


Thy Vengeful Asymmetry（お前の復讐な非対称）

by MonochroMayhem



Series: Resounding Echoes AU [4]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Communication Failure, Dimension Travel, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Mental Health Issues, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Revenge, Shrinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:42:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29279385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonochroMayhem/pseuds/MonochroMayhem
Summary: A new guest arrives through the Lunar Gate bearing a strange power and a thirst to reverse... something. Confused and frustrated, he seeks to save those he lost in his world. Meanwhile, Tails' work on a very special device leaves her best friend with bigger problems...
Series: Resounding Echoes AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1827637
Kudos: 1





	1. Color Me Confused

“Are you really sure that I was needed for this?”

Sylphic grimaced as he followed Nyx into the cave, medical kit strapped to his back and canteen clanking against his hip. He had no appointments to keep, but he had errands he needed to run. Sure, they were grocery related, but even if he could survive on peanut butter and rice cakes it didn’t mean he wanted to. But alas, he was at Nyx’s shrine again.

“Absolutely,” Nyx replied. “When I sensed him in the pool, he was horribly injured. Honestly, I don’t think he should have survived…”

“Huh,” Syll replied. He drew the water that fell over the inner chamber’s entrance up to avoid getting both him and the young moth soaked. She seemed to be in an extreme hurry, not even bothering to remove her cloak. Whoever this person was, his health was more important.

Sylphic ran through and joined her, stomach swirling as he glanced at Aria lodged in the wall. Seeing that gem never made it easy- he’d been bonding with Stella, and it seemed like the poor girl was terrified of her older sister. Not that he blamed her- his own friends had been affected harshly by Aria’s influence.

“Did you glean anything about our new arrival?” Syll asked Nyx. He opened his pouch and caressed the Sapphire he’d brought with him.

“Not much,” she said. “He has severe chest pain, enough that when I felt it I nearly puked from the stress. He also reeks of… jackal, if that makes sense.”

“You can smell him? That seems strange,” the hybrid said.

“Well, “smell” isn’t exactly correct,” Nyx clarified. “I just can’t think of a better word to describe it.”

“No, I sort of understand, but… I guess it was just an interesting choice of words,” he said. “You don’t think he’s one of the brigands that Rouge was talking about? She’s been trailing them with a G.U.N. team since she heard tell of Ivo’s recent schemes.”

“I don’t know if he’s from that group, but I know he’s not from this dimension’s version of it,” she said. “What I’m more concerned about is that he’s in critical condition.”

“Right.” Syll noticed that the water was beginning to boil. “Any indication as to what sort of “critical condition” you’re referring to? It’s kind of a broad term.”

“When I first caught a feeling that he was coming, there was this pain in my chest. It was like something was broken in there, or something had been damaged, I guess?” She knelt down as she spotted the silhouette of their arrival. “I can’t quite describe it. But it was strong.”

Syll unpacked his kit and began rifling through it. “Well, if it’s any sort of severe bleeding, the only hope I have is to stem it. And if I can’t do it by myself,” he said, pulling out Stella’s Sapphire, “I’ll have to have a little help.”

Nyx smiled. “How is she, by the way?” the moth asked. “I heard through the grapevine you were working on something to communicate better.”

Syll nodded and paused before speaking. “She says things are alright. It’s quiet where she is at, but she’s not in any anguish. At least, not at the moment…”

“Oh?” Nyx asked.

“Well, every so often she has crying spells. I’m hoping the communications device I’m developing gives her a bit more freedom to see what’s out here.” He paused and pointed at the pool. “He’s about to break the surface. Get ready.”

As the jackal pulled his head from the water, he violently thrashed. “I can still fight!” he shouted, an anguished pop cracking in his voice. The distortion of his mask made it difficult to properly pinpoint precisely which overlayed voice was his own and which was a projection, but as he came to recognize his surroundings, Sylphic was already wading into the rapidly disappearing water.

“It’s alright, sir,” the hybrid said. “I’m not here to hurt you. You must be—“

“Don’t you touch me, insect,” the jackal said. He raised his arm before clutching his chest and coughing hard through the voice modulator. “I don’t need your pity.”

Sylphic frowned. “You’re confused.” He reached forward. “It’s hard to hear you underneath that mask.”

“Don’t!” the arrival shouted. A strange pinkish haze seemed to eminate from his chest, right where his hand was grasping.

Nyx frowned. “No, it can’t be…” she breathed.

As Syll watched his friend move closer, he saw the glint of a gem buried in his chest. “Another Eye?” he thought aloud. “It isn’t even shaped like the rest, though.”

The jackal lunged forward and took a swing at him before darting to the edge of the near-empty pool. He frantically clambered up the side and sprinted towards the exit, but as he reached the outer sanctum, he realized that there was a frozen waterfall in the way. His mask slammed into the ice and was knocked away, and he turned around and stared at the hybrid who’d followed him.

Sylphic placed the Sapphire against his head before pulling his hand away. “You’re injured. If you keep moving, you’ll bleed out.”

The jackal struggled to put his mask back on. He clearly was unconcerned as he stood up and widened his stance. “What is it to you?” he asked, voice duplicated again as he covered his face.

Nyx landed beside Sylphic. “There’s no way that gem is real… I threw it into another dimension.”

Sylphic pursed his lips before holding his hand up. “What’s your name?” he asked the newcomer.

“What business do you have in knowing who I am? Who I was?” the jackal replied. From his chest, a faint pinkish mist seemed to spill. Nyx frowned and tucked herself further behind Syll.

The medic stepped a bit closer. “Okay, I’ll go first. My name is Sylphic. You came here from another dimension. You’re injured and if you don’t get medical help soon, you’ll die.”

The jackal frowned and held his hand up. “No closer, you sewer rat!” he said. His voice held a deep sense of assuredness, but also a note of fear. The mist from him intensified, and a loud droning sound hit Sylphic’s ears and caused him to clutch his head.

As Sylphic screamed, he noticed how the world had gone crimson. Nyx seemed to have disappeared, as had the guest.

The world tore at its seams like a thread being pulled from a tapestry, like a broken VHS attempting to play a film. The images that made up the medic’s world seemed to rip and split and shake, and for a moment, he swore he could see something happening to his own body.

A sense of dread overtook him as he held up his arms. He took a look at them as he observed the glitchy surroundings before watching as his arms flashed from violet to a washed-out yellow for the briefest of instants. The sound of an anguished yell rang through his surroundings, the sound of an enraged “I’m not weak!” that was ripping through someone’s lungs like a ravenous tiger breaking free from a cage. A momentary image of bodies piled beneath rocks sent his stomach into a tailspin. But before he could even hope to explain to himself what had happened, he was plunged back into reality.

He looked at the jackal and stood up straight. “What was that?” he said.

“My powers…” the brigand said. “They’re… still here?”

Sylphic took no time and quickly used the canine’s distracted moment against him. “Stella!” he shouted, drawing up one of his hands.

As the jackal turned to attempt to get through the wall, he felt himself tumble over, unable to move his legs. “What the--”

Nyx frowned. “Aren’t you going a little hard, sister?” she asked.

Stella, through Syll, responded. “It’s only to restrain him, I promise.”

The jackal gripped a handful of dust from the floor and threw it into Sylphic’s eyes before attempting to break free of his grip. While his legs were free, it took the medic a matter of moments before a pair of chains shot from the ice wall and held him fast.

Bleary-eyed, Syll approached. “What was that?” he repeated, this time a bit more firm. He slowly walked forward and held his hand up to remove the traveler’s mask. “Who are you?”

The jackal struggled, trying to pull his head away from the medic’s approaching grasp. “Don’t touch me!” he shouted. He didn’t even seem to realize how badly he was shaking, but Syll did, and he retracted his hand as another flash of yellow hit his arms.

“Fine, I won’t remove it. Not now.” He carefully undid the jackal from the wall, but quickly took ahold of his legs. “Don’t try running- the Sapphire amplifies my powers. I have control of the water in your muscles, however difficult it may be to maintain.”

The jackal coughed through his mask, the split in his voice making it sound several times worse. “You think that this will stop me from running?”

“No, but I know better than to just let you slip away,” Syll looked at him, clearly trying to parse out what he’d just witnessed. Why had his colors changed? Who was shouting so far in the distance? Who was buried in all the rubble? “You might be strong, but I’m stronger.”

The jackal attempted to move his arms towards his chest, but Syll locked those up as well, though it took significantly more effort than he’d hoped. The hybrid began feeling tears run down his face as he focused. “Nyx,” he said. “A little help here.”

“What do you expect me to do?” Nyx asked.

“You said that was another Eye,” Syll weakly said. The eye above his forehead began to flicker as he slowly lost control.

Nyx frowned. “I thought it was too but… this one is a fake. An imitation.”

The jackal groaned and tilted his head up. “This is no imitation, you brat!” he yelled. A bright pink flash glinted, and they were sent back into a crimson-stained world of fraying visions. Nyx hugged Syll’s leg again as she spotted the unmistakable silhouette of Akshi breaking apart behind the ice wall. “N-no!” she yelled, and violently threw her hands up.

The vision faded as she came back to her own aura surrounding the jackal, rendering his powers null as she struggled to maintain her grasp. It slowly expanded into a bubble,

“What the heck?” the jackal said. He kicked and stumbled about, trying to use whatever was trapped in his chest, but as he pulled the power within him his only visible eye glazed over and he pressed himself into the wall from an invisible threat.

Syll looked at Nyx and frowned. “Wow, sis,” Stella spoke. “I know you were capable of a lot but it seems a little out of character for you to resort to actual torture.”

“I’m not torturing him,” the moth replied. “He has some copy of the Phantom Ruby, and he’s using it only to have it bounce back on himself.”

“The Phantom Ruby?” Syll asked. He held a hand up to his forehead. “That’s enough for now, Stella. Thank you.”

“I’m remembering faintly that another one of my incarnations threw the Ruby into another dimension in an attempt to keep it from causing a mess. But this one feels wrong- it has no heart, no soul.” Her eyes seemed downcast. “Perhaps had I known it would cause this much of a hassle I’d have kept it here. Still, what’s with that strange shape? I don’t recall the Ruby looking like that.”

The jackal screeched. “I’m not weak!” he shouted, still trapped in an unseen nightmare.

“Stella’s right, you know,” Syll said, tucking his friend back into her resting place. “This does seem a bit harsh.”

“The Ruby’s powers were unstable. That sister in particular did things out of fear, out of self-preservation. If someone came close, she’d curl into a ball and bear her spikes, so to speak,” Nyx said. “It’s not the best metaphor but it’s what I got.”

“If I didn’t know you were talking about a moth, I would have suspected a different creature entirely,” Syll teased. He set the stone in his belt and came forward. “Seriously though- at least give him some rest.”

Syll carefully reached through the barrier, content that he could do so. As firmly but precisely as possible, he took a fist and punched below the jackal’s chin, rendering him unconscious quickly and knocking away his mask. Nyx pulled her powers away and stood next to him. “He’s really banged up,” she said.

“You’re telling me. The fact that he managed to move as much as he did… what sort of world did he even come from?”

“I’m not sure,” Nyx said. “But you better get him help before he wakes up. It looks like he’s already deteriorating.”

Nyx stayed in place as Syll moved closer. Her eyes were still glancing around the area, clearly distraught at something.

“You can’t come with?” Syll asked. “You clearly have a better grasp on him than I do.”

“I would normally, yes, but with Concerto still loose I can’t shirk my duties. What if Aria gets taken? Those two together would be a considerably difficult threat to manage,” Nyx said. “Maybe when we have Concerto under wraps I would be able to but… not now. Sorry.”

Syll nodded. “I understand.” He unfroze the water, leaving a puff of steam as it heated, and wrapped a bunch of it around the jackal. “I’ll call you later to update you. Hopefully with Stella’s help I can keep him from moving too much.

Nyx nodded. “Good luck!”

Syll chuckled nervously. “Yeah,” he said, reminded of the flashes he’d seen and heard. “I’ll try to have that.”

* * *

The stadium was empty, just as Tails had said. Bastette nervously wrung her hands before wheeling her sister inside. “I don’t think I’ve seen a place this un-packed before. Have you?” she jokingly asked.

“Yeah, the teams must really have a rivalry going if they need this much space!” Jolt said back. “Seriously though- I don’t think I’m ever gonna get over the sheer amount of empty seats here. I don’t remember the stadium being this big a few years ago.”

“Yeah, remember how big into the track meets you got?” the orange cat replied. “You said you wanted to be like that one guy south of the Federation…”

“Yeah, him? Yeah, I still do, though I don’t think competing against him would be fair, and you know why. Though I think that seeing some of the action in Station Square might have changed my mind…”

Bastette smirked. “Oh, so that’s why you kept gawking at Sonic a month ago.”

Jolt frowned and turned in her wheelchair to face her sister. “Hey, when you realize your friend is best friends with a freakin’ celebrity that you admire you can get lost in the moment.” She settled back down. “Seriously, were you ever gonna tell me?”

“I just reunited with you and you never told me before the bomb threat,” Bastette said. The mischievous grin was still glued to her face. “How was I supposed to know?”

“Fair enough,” Jolt said.

Bastette settled down on a bench with Jolt facing her. “Tails is on her way,” she explained. “There were a few finishing touches she needed to do on something before she arrived.”

Jolt nodded. “I bet it’s the fancy watch she’s been designing,” she said. “She said it was a very touchy project and that a wrong move could possibly have pretty serious consequences, but I always try to tell her that she’s worrying too much.”

“I’m sure she just wants it to be safe,” Bastette said. “She’s a good scientist, Jolt- she checks and double checks her work.”

“More like quintuple checks,” Jolt said. “I hope she finishes it up soon- it sounded super interesting from what I heard.”

Bastette smiled, distracted by something behind her sister. “You have a lot in common with your idol, you know?”

“I mean, I guess?” Jolt said, not noting her sister’s strange gaze through her. “Am I really that impatient?”

“Eh, impatient isn’t the right word,” a spry voice said from behind her. “I like to think I’m more… excited.”

Jolt went pale before she turned around and stared. Sonic was striding forward behind her, giving her a thumbs up as he approached. “I-I…”

“Heh, looks like the cat doesn’t have her own tongue this time,” he said, sitting down next to Bastette. “Seriously, Jolt, you didn’t think I wasn’t gonna show for one of Tails’ new toys, did you?”

Bastette sheepishly smiled. “Oh, yeah, I totally forgot to tell you, didn’t I?”

Jolt swallowed a lump in her throat. “I-I… I have so many questions. I mean, I’m kinda… a big fan, I guess.”

“Well, we can answer questions now if you’d like,” Sonic said. “Or we can wait ‘til Tails shows up so we can give you a surprise gift.”

“You mean the legs?” Jolt asked. “Not much of a gift if you know it’s coming.”

Sonic chuckled. “That’s not the gift we’re talking about.”

“He’s right,” Bastette said. “I think I understand why Tails told us to meet here.”

Sonic stood and moved a bit closer. “So, Jolt, Tails said she made something that would work with your powers. I didn’t know you had ‘em, so…” He awkwardly scratched his head and held out his free hand. “You wanna show me?”

Jolt frowned. “Are you sure? Shadow fell over when I tried this.”

“Come on, it can’t be that bad!” Sonic insisted. “I’ve been hit by worse.”

Jolt rubbed her hands together just a little bit.

Sonic frowned. “Don’t go easy on me just because you look up to me, you know.”

Jolt narrowed her eyes. “Okay, you asked for it,” she said. Her slight grazing of the hands turned into a vigorous and frantic rubbing before she reached forward. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Bastette grimaced. “Yeah, I’ll just get my phone ready.”

Sonic paused before grabbing her hand. There wasn’t anything. “Oh, this isn’t so ba—“

An explosion of sparks danced across his fur and caused him to fall into the ground. Jolt’s eyes widened. “Sonic, are you okay? I-I didn’t…”

She stopped as he sat back up and clutched his head, laughing as he quickly recovered. “That was awesome!” He held his hand out. “Come on, one more time!”

Jolt’s worry seemed to fade into joy as she wound up another shock. She’d never seen someone so willing to be zapped as the hedgehog was. Not that she was worried about electrocution- she knew how to keep her powers under lethal doses.

Meanwhile, Bastette was filming the moment for posterity’s sake. Well, that and she enjoyed seeing her older twin’s smile. A million dollars couldn’t buy it or any of the joy it could produce.

“Hey, we’re here!” said Tails from a distance. She’d entered from the same place the twins did, and following close behind was Shadow, who appeared to be lugging cases over his shoulders.

“Tails!” Sonic said. “Glad you could make it, pal! I was just getting some shock therapy before we begin.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” the fox replied. “You smell singed.”

“Fair.” He turned to Jolt. “So, are you ready to get outta that chair?”

“I’ve been out of it before, you know,” she said. “I have “legs” designed for running. Though they aren’t as permanent as these will hopefully be.”

Sonic chuckled. “Well, I hope they’re as good as two months of work can get ya.”

“Knowing Tails,” Bastette said, “sleep may have been lost.”

“Sleep was lost,” Tails replied with a grin. “But that’s not your gift.”

Jolt sat up straight as she saw Shadow drop the containers. “Wait, what’s with the blue box? You didn’t make a second pair, did you?”

“Oh no, I don’t think you’ll need a second pair with how well these turned out. No, this is a high speed camera,” Tails said, patting the top of the blue box. “The red one has your legs.”

Jolt looked down. She was seated on top of a track. “Wait just a sec…” She looked at Sonic, then to Shadow, then to Tails. “You… you’re kidding, right?” she asked.

Sonic chuckled. “Nah,” he said. “I remember Tails saying something about another racer here.”

Jolt’s grin widened. “But you two are so…”

“Fast?” Shadow asked, smirking. “Yeah, it’s kind of our thing. That won’t be a problem, will it?”

“I mean, do these legs even go that fast?” Jolt asked.

“Well, yeah, I added nitro mode,” Tails said. “I already told you that.”

“I know, but—“

Sonic put a hand on her shoulder. “We can always take it easy on you, you know,” he said.

Jolt looked him dead in the eyes. “Oh ho, no. You did not just…”

Bastette frowned. “Oh, here she goes…”

“You’re gonna go easy on me ‘cause I’m a chick, ain‘tcha? Bring it the heck on.” Jolt kicked off her blanket. “Get me geared up so I can kick the snot outta these boys.”

Tails smirked. “Right on it, ma’am,” she replied.

As Tails helped Jolt gear up, Bastette put a hand on Sonic’s shoulder. “Yeah, maybe don’t do that next time. You’re kinda her hero, you know?” She looked at Shadow. “And you, quite literally.”

Shadow smirked. “I doubt she’s that fast. I mean, Sonic and I sped down the barrel of a space laser and avoided getting obliterated.”

”You’re awfully sure of yourself,” Bastette said. “Before she lost her legs she was the fastest on her track team.”

“Oh? Can’t be that bad,” Sonic said.

“I got disqualified,” Jolt clarified. “Because I did a mile in twelve seconds.”

Shadow crossed his arms. “Alright, you certainly have my attention.”

Sonic raised an eyebrow. “Twelve seconds, huh?”

“Yup,” Jolt said. “300 miles per hour.”

Sonic took both her hands. “Maybe you are more than meets the eye, then,” he said, pulling her up.

Jolt rocked a bit as she got used to the feeling of her legs before grinning. “Tails, you said there was a wheel function here?”

“Oh, right. Yeah, charge up and hit the hex panels on the sides.”

Jolt rubbed her hands together and examined the legs. “Outside of the ankle, right?” she asked.

Tails nodded and turned to Sonic. “Lucky you- I’ve been wanting to test these against some tough competition. They use a lot of similar features that my Straightwinds do, but the contact at the attachment point means that she can power them with her abilities.” She held a finger to her chin and gave her friend a playful smirk. “Pretty ingenious, if I do say so myself.”

“Gotta hand it to ya, pal,” Sonic replied. “You’ve been changing lives all over the place. First ‘Tette, then Jolt…”

“Hey, I wouldn’t have been given the chance if I didn’t have someone to show me how to be cool,” she said back. She slugged him in the shoulder. “Jolt,” the fox said, turning her head, “clicking your heels will enable nitro.” She then turned to begin setting up the camera.

“Wouldn’t wanna slam myself into a wall just yet,” Jolt said. She carefully clicked her left foot to her right heel, and the whir of the boost became primed. “So boys, um…” she paused. “Is it just Sonic racing or…?”

Shadow smirked. “I’m not missing it for the world.”

Tails carefully adjusted the camera before giving a thumbs up. “Should be good to go.”

Jolt gently skated to the line. “Then let’s get started.”

Shadow frowned and looked at Sonic. “Hope you like third place.”

Sonic smiled back. “Yeah? Because I’m sure you’re gonna be the one sitting there.”

Shadow rolled his eyes. “Please, I have little doubt that Jolt can keep up.”

Sonic paused. “Hey, I never said that I had doubt. Nobody’s faster than me.”

“You know, for hedgehogs, you’re getting over here pretty slow,” the cat taunted. “At this rate I’ll have to start without you.”

The boys growled and sped over. “You’re the slow one,” they said in unison. “Hey, don’t copy me,” they said again.

Jolt turned around. “I hope you don’t mind me showing off,” she said. “Just a little entertainment for my heroes. Well, mostly for me, but still.”

Sonic and Shadow looked at each other. “Wait you’re going to skate backwards?” Sonic asked. “Are you trying to lose here?”

“Hardly,” she replied. “Just figured I’d like to watch you choke down my dust. Dinner and a show.”

Sonic smirked. “How will you see where you’re going?”

“It’s a standard track, not much to miss,” Jolt said. “Tails, you ready?”

Shadow rolled his eyes. “I can’t stand both of your personalities in the same room. It’s like having an extra Sonic…”

Tails held up the prop gun and started the camera. “Alright, on your marks…”

The boys knelt down, touching their knuckles to the ground. Jolt tapped her toes against the ground before grazing one heel with the other. Bastette grinned, remembering the joy from all those years ago of watching her sister go about errands this way. It never got old feeling the wind the vacuum of her presence left whenever she had to grab milk.

“Set…” Tails smiled. She seemed to already know the outcome, judging by the looks on the faces of the boys. Though her smile disappeared for a brief second as she watched what Jolt did.

“...GO!” she shouted, after the pause passed her. She fired.

As fast as her namesake, Jolt left the finish line. The hedgehogs hesitated before looking at each other and scowling, launching themselves forward and following the jaunty cat.

18 laps in. Shadow could feel a buzz from his phone but ignored it as he moved forward, keeping an even pace with both his rival and Jolt. This has to be some sort of trick, there’s no way that this is all they have.

Sonic watched as Shadow advanced past him. “Oh no, you don’t…” he said, speeding up to match. “You’re not gettin’ past me.”

Jolt giggled and looked at the boys before matching pace and skating beside them. She put one of her legs across the thigh of the other and lazily put her hands against her head. “Is that seriously all you got? Stop holding back for me, will ya? It’s insulting.” A brief flash of her smirk left the hedgehogs both annoyed before she turned forwards and skated past them.

The hedgehogs stared at each other before nodding resolutely, jumping forward and pulling themselves ahead.

175 laps in. There wasn’t much left. Sonic had to think fast. Not that it was that hard to.

He grinned and boosted himself forward, a strong percussive blast of air left in his wake. He wasn’t going to let either of them win.

A second boom came from behind, and up came Shadow cheekily shooting him a grin. “You’re not being very fair to Jolt, you know,” he said.

“Maybe I just feel a little—“

“Threatened?” Shadow said. “Wow, you’ve really been on edge since last time, haven’t you?”

The comment stung a bit too hard. “Shadow, that’s not very—“

A third loud noise came from behind the two of them, and they caught Jolt approaching fast. “Uh oh,” they said to each other.

Shadow pushed a little bit further, as did Sonic, but as they crossed the finish line, they spotted the orange cat whizzing past them…

...and directly slamming into a wall. Sonic frowned and ran over. “Jolt!” he shouted. “Um, you okay?”

The orange cat burst out laughing. “That was great! You boys really are stiff competition. Still, there’s no way you went slower. Had to be off by a few seconds.”

Sonic smiled and offered his hand before hoisting Jolt up. “Well, whatever it was, it was fun.”

Jolt looked at Bastette and Tails, who were both gawking at the playback of the camera. “What’s wrong?”

“Um… Jolt, how close did you say you were? A few seconds?” Bastette asked.

“Yeah, why? Did I hit the mark?” she asked.

Tails pursed her lips. “You were behind, but it was less of a few seconds and more like… a few _micro_ seconds.”

Shadow and Sonic looked at each other, then to Jolt. The former could see a slight blush creep over the latter’s face, and he couldn’t help but smirk. “Is something the matter?” he asked him.

“The matter? No, nothing’s “the matter”, nothing at all, just—“ Sonic paused. “That call was too close.”

Jolt sighed. “Better luck next time, I guess,” she said to the fox. “Seriously, I broke a sweat trying to keep up.”

Sonic grinned a little bit more. “Well, we could always go again, you know,” he said.

Jolt paled. “Do you… mean that? Don’t say it unless you mean it.”

Shadow smiled and patted his rival on the back, knocking him forward a bit. “Looks like you got yourself some competition. First she’ll beat you, and then she’ll try to beat me.”

“Don’t think you aren’t on my radar, pal,” Jolt said.

Shadow was about to speak when his phone went off again. He reached down and pointed a finger up as if to say “one moment”. “Yes, Syll, what’s going on?”

There was a momentary pause as the rest of the group heard shouting from the other end. Shadow bristled and bit his lip a bit. “Look, there was an appointment I had to keep and— no, I will be there, so stop lecturing me over the phone so I can get over to the office.”

Another pause, and Shadow’s eyes went wide. “Yeah, okay. I didn’t know, sorry for ignoring the first phone call. Where did you find him?”

As Shadow turned and skated off, still on the phone, Tails raised an eyebrow. “Wonder what that’s about,” she said. “Eh, probably something we shouldn’t mess with. I’ve had my fair share of adventures for now.”

Jolt chuckled. “Heh, maybe I could join you one day,” she said.

“Sis, you shouldn’t risk it,” Bastette replied. “What we‘ve done before is dangerous.”

Jolt tilted her head. “I know that it’s supposed to be a warning, but you’re making it sound like an advertisement.”

Tails chimed in. “Speaking of warnings,” she said, “I need to talk with you for a sec.” She beckoned Jolt to follow her down the track.

Bastette and Sonic looked at each other before the latter spoke. “Oh no, that’s the look,” he said.

“Yeah, I know that look too,” the cat replied.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Tails turned to face her friend. “Are you serious? You turned off the nitro? You could have overclocked those things!”

“Tails, you know how I feel about cheating,” Jolt said.

“I know, but I don’t know how strong the axles are at going that fast for that long.” She put a hand on her forehead. “I can’t stay too mad. You didn’t tell me that’s how fast you could go.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be fair to let them have all the fun, would it?” Jolt replied. “Still, I’ll take it easy for you. I know you still have a few tests you wanna run.”

The fox nodded. “Thanks. Oh, and if Sonic says he wants to race again, you better bet he’s gonna hold you to it.”

“Oh, I know,” Jolt said. “He looks like he’s a little more than interested in racing.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tails said. “...You know, it’s no big deal.”

“What’s… what’s up, Watts?” Jolt asked. “You suddenly got down.”

“What?” Tails said, jumping back to attention. “Oh, it’s nothing, there’s just been something on my mind. Something that’s been nagging at me for a while now, actually.”

“Heh, well, you should go tell him, then.” Jolt patted her on the back. “I mean, you told him you weren’t gonna hide anything, right?”

“It’s not that, it’s…” The fox gently put her foot down and nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”

“Good, because I don’t wanna be blunt for you.”

Sonic raised his hands. “You ladies done gossiping? We could go grab a bite to eat if you’re feeling up for it.” He frowned as he held a hand to his stomach. “There’s a bunch of stuff open downtown.”

Jolt and Tails giggled to each other before the former smirked and clicked her heels. The mechanisms within whirred as the nitro powered up. “Alright, Big Blue, you’re on. Last one to Armillo’s pays up.”

Before Bastette or Tails could say anything, the two speedsters were off, and the fox took the remaining cat to the air in pursuit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last, I'm back! Sorry about the wait! I just got moved to a new house! I've never lived on my own.
> 
> You aren't on your own, you have us, remember? --Cosmic
> 
> Right... heh...
> 
> Anyways, I finally get to introduce a character back into play. I'm excited to get this fluffy boy into the AU, since he's... O//u//O
> 
> Sorry, simp doesn't even begin to cover it, does it?
> 
> Anyways, this one is gonna deal with some dark themes as per usual for the AU.


	2. And You Were There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Syll's patient shows his true colors, but leaves Shadow more fascinated than frightened.

Shadow pursed his lips as he entered the elevator. It was only a few minutes after the medic had hung up, and he’d been playing what was said through his mind to make sure he’d understood everything. Sylphic spoke way too quickly for comfort- something was clearly wrong if he was this panicked.

Syll explained over the call that he’d gotten an emergency call from Nyx about the Lunar Gate opening up. He reckoned the medic was talking about the pool of water the young moth tended to. He nodded to himself- the last time he was there, he wasn’t exactly “him”, having traded places with a teenager. Nonetheless, he was grateful things were back to the way they should be.

Well, barring some really disturbing thoughts from his rival. He looked down at his phone and went into the call app to count, and he sighed in frustration- 47 answered phone calls from the blue blur.

As the door to the elevator closed, he leaned against the closest wall, spines pressing away as his cheek hit the cold metal. Sonic wasn’t kidding when he said it messed him up. _What was I thinking earlier, taunting him like that?_ he thought. _Teen’s been through enough. Even if he gets on my nerves._

Following Concerto’s sudden drop from the face of the Earth, Shadow had gone into high gear to look for clues. Tails had confirmed that Retrograde and Eggman had indeed been working together, and so he’d informed G.U.N. regarding the possible breach in national security. When he wasn’t on recon looking for clues, though, Shadow had other responsibilities. 

Namely, his new sister, Blue.

She was sillier than he’d remembered her to be before she became a Black Arms soldier. The childlike innocence seemed to be in high gear, though there were obvious moments of lucidity where she’d remember her manners and behave as a young lady should. Even still, she had mannerisms like a cat, down to staring Shadow down while carefully knocking glass cups off the living room table.

 _Good thing I have carpet there,_ he noted mentally. _And good thing it’s a dark brown._

He jumped as his phone buzzed again. No caller ID, nothing. He assumed the worst and picked up. “Yes, this is Agent Shadow. What’s the status report?”

“We’ve made a discovery.”

Rouge’s voice. Shadow noticed he’d bristled but calmed down at the sound of his friend. “Excellent work, Rouge. What have you found?”

“No need to be so formal,” Rouge replied.

“This is a government phone, I intend to remain formal,” he said. “I repeat, what have—“

“A gem,” the bat said. 

Shadow swallowed hard. “What shape?” he asked, wary of how easily they could fall into another trap.

“Relax, it’s not another one. This one is an icosahedron. Though it does appear to have some sort of strange glow coming from it.” She paused. “Ah, I see- it exhibits phantoming.”

“Phantoming?” Shadow asked. “I’m not sure I follow.”

“I’ve been rock hounding for weeks- I’ve found some great ones at a few downtown mineral shops. A phantom gem basically means that a crystal grows around and completely swallows another crystal. Though this one is weird- I’ve never seen a ruby exhibit this trait…”

Shadow paused. Syll had mentioned in a phone call that there was some sort of “Phantom Ruby” attached to his patient. He’d zoned out, so he didn’t catch all the details, but he nodded to himself. “Keep an eye out for any more clues. We need all the help we can get on this case.”

“Got it. We’ll be reconvening at HQ for our next move.” Rouge hung up immediately. No goodbye, no cheeky little quip, just businesslike affirmation. On one hand, Shadow was grateful- a moment of progress from her was always good to see. But on the other hand, he wondered if she was starting to grow distant in their friendship.

He shook his head as the elevator doors opened to the appropriate floor. He had to stop getting concerned about how she’d handle it. She was Rouge, a grown-up with a good head on her shoulders. She pulled herself up by the bootstraps at eighteen, there wasn’t anything she couldn’t do, right?

 _Why do I need to convince myself that she’s fine?_ he wondered.

Shadow walked down the hall and to the office door. As he grasped the handle, he wondered what Syll was going to need him for. He only guessed it was about his blood. Typical.

He turned the knob and entered the modified apartment, carefully stamping his feet on the mat in front of him to remove any dust. Then, he carefully made his way to the door before rapping on the threshold of the open door with his knuckles. “I’m here,” he said.

Syll’s eyes lit up as they locked with Shadow’s, but he quickly turned and nervously looked at the patient silhouetted behind the medical privacy screen. “Sorry, he likes to thrash. I have to keep an eye on him.”

Shadow paused as he read the label on the IV drip and listened sternly to the steady beep of a nearby EKG. “Isn’t this to keep him under?” he asked, pointing to the hanging bag of clear liquid.

The medic nodded. “I had a hard time getting him into the bed. I might be able to change the bag to something else, hopefully his wounds will heal. He’s still really banged up.”

“What did you say about a ruby?” he asked the half-Chao. “I spaced for a second from all your muttering science-babble.”

Sylphic rolled his eyes. “I get tired of repeating myself, you know.” He paused, tapping his fingers on the medical counter starting from the pinky to the index, then reversed. “Simply put, it seems to create some sort of illusion laid over reality.”

“So, virtual reality?” Shadow asked.

“No, virtual reality means the world around you is completely different. Putting on a VR headset would be experiencing a different “world” entirely.” The medic stopped tapping as he noticed the patient groaning and carefully walked over and pressed a button on the nearby IV drip. “It’s more like augmented reality.”

“I take it he managed to get a hit on you with it?” Shadow said. 

Syll looked at the patient from behind the screen and sighed. “Yeah, and I saw some… strange things. Things I’ve been taking notes on for the past few hours.”

Shadow pursed his lips. “Well, why did you call me over here?”

The medic pulled the screen away to reveal a jackal weakly staring at the ceiling, eyes unfocused and barely open. “Knowing what your blood is capable of, I used some of the donations. But even with the healing factor, the amount I used isn’t quite enough. I could try the experimental drug, but well… neither of us need to heal, now do we?”

“Lemme repeat then- why am I here?” the black hedgehog said. He frowned as he spotted a creepy-looking mask in the corner.

“Well, for starters, it seems that one more donation will be enough to close the wound. I can’t say much about the cracked gem in his chest, though- there’s no way to repair it and it seems to be wrapped around his vital organs like the roots of a tree.”

Shadow narrowed his eyes and sat down in the nearby chair. “Enough talk, then,” he reluctantly said as he held out his arm. “Just stick me before I regret stepping in here.”

As Syll turned off the drip and prepared a new needle, Shadow got a better look at the sleeping jackal in front of him. He bore a scar across his right eye and his mane seemed to be so thick that it fell beneath and around him like an extra cushion. He wasn’t sure about who he was affiliated with, either- he did not know of other jackals from the reports aside from the Squad Eggman hired to keep whatever plan he was hatching from G.U.N.

Since he was from another world, and a ruby was bound to him, and Rouge had mentioned coming across some sort of ruby in her raid of the desert base, it seemed that whatever plans he had involved someone like this canine. Something that bound a ruby to him forever.

He winced and nearly jumped from the seat as the medic pressed the needle into his arm. “Darn you, Syll! I nearly-“

“Shh. He’s still asleep,” the purple hybrid replied. “I’d rather not wake him- he’s a thrasher, like I said.”

It was then that Shadow noticed the silver buckles that peeked out from under the blanket. “You had to tie him down?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Syll said, getting up and turning on the machine again. He frowned as Shadow shifted uncomfortably. “He probably would have tried to get away otherwise. He seemed to be experiencing severe confusion when he arrived.”

Shadow swallowed as he noticed the patient beginning to stir and the sound of the EKG became slightly more rapid. “And you’re not worried since he’s waking up now?” 

“Not particularly, no.” The medic held up the familiar Echo Sapphire and placed it against his head, causing his voice leap for a moment. “We’ve got a backup plan.”

The jackal’s eyes, bleary from being sedated and knocked out, fluttered a bit as they cracked open. “Ugh, what… where am I?” he mumbled.

Syll smiled and came closer, drawing the curtain such that his patient had privacy again. The IV tugged at Shadow’s arm for a moment but then settled. 

“You’re in my office, recovering from your earlier bout,” said the silhouetted medic. There was a slight jostling before Syll continued. “I wouldn’t strain yourself- you’ll only make your chest pain worse and—“

The jackal growled. “You expect me to stay put?” he asked. “You must be joking.”

Syll raised an eyebrow. “You can’t exactly leave right now. I’m still fixing you up.” He pointed a thumb to Shadow through the curtain. “Your donor is a very special someone. He’s been helping me with my research. You’ve already taken three bags of blood from him, yet you’re still injured.”

The jackal sighed. “You may as well dissect me.”

“We will be doing no such thing,” both Syll and Stella replied. Syll cleared his throat.

“What… what day is it?” the patient asked. “What _year_ is it?”

Syll carefully pulled out his phone and flicked through his apps. “December 14th. Um… here it is.”

There was a lengthy pause before another series of jostles broke out and shook the bed. “I… I can’t stay here, I need to warn my Squad.”

Shadow perked up at the sound of that word. He was correct in his assessment after all. He was about to speak, but Syll beat him to it. 

“You’re confused, sir,” the medic said. “You came here badly wounded from another dimension. That’s why you’re getting donations. That’s why you’re strapped down- you tried to hurt my friend, Nyx.”

“I don’t care what happened, I need to leave,” the jackal said. “You can’t be keeping me here when they’re in danger from that menace.”

“What are you on about?” Shadow asked aloud. He paused as he realized he’d spoken instead of just thinking it to himself.

A long silence engulfed the room between the three occupants, punctuated only by the sound of the EKG spiking. Shadow stood up and pulled the curtain back, revealing the jackal who stared back at him with a pair of mismatched but widened eyes.

 _“You…”_ the patient growled. _“You’re still just as awful as I remember…”_

“I beg your pardon?” Shadow asked. “I don’t recall seeing you before. Though the intelligence records we have—“

 _“You said that last time, too,”_ the jackal grumbled. _“You didn’t recognize me then after what you did.”_

Shadow frowned. “You’re not even listening to Syll. He said you’re from another dimension- of _course_ I wouldn’t know you.”

The jackal grinned, and the edges of his lips curled hungrily as the mist from his gem began swirling against the blanket that covered him. “I see the curiosity on your face, Shadow. Here, allow me to remind you of your cruelty.”

Syll threw up his hand. “Seven—ugh!” he groaned as a crimson cube slammed him against the wall, knocking a framed certificate from beside the analog clock down. The Sapphire slipped away from him and clattered to the ground as the hybrid clung to consciousness.

Shadow frowned and went to help him up after tearing the needle from his arm in a rush, but stopped cold as the world around him turned red and glitchy. He couldn’t quite comprehend what the jackal had done. All he knew was that in an instant, Syll was no longer there, instead replaced by the patient scooting against the wall of a jungle cliff. Shadow stood over the jackal, but was unsure what he had to be afraid of until he noticed a descending shade from his back.

_Worthless. Disgusting._

Shadow shivered at those words. The familiar cadence made him feel sick as he turned to be met with a visage of himself. Though it was unambiguously him, the other Shadow seemed to stare _right through him._ The glower from the illusion pierced through his armor like a mosquito into skin, and it seemed to sap hope as the lips parted again.

_That face… the unsightly face of a loser. Don’t ever let me see it again._

Shadow clutched his head as he was flung back into reality. He shook his head as he steadied himself, trying to process what he’d seen, however brief it may have been. His thoughts were cut short as he heard the clatter of buckles against the floor and as he looked up towards the jackal he felt a firm kick to the face, which flung him into the file cabinet in the corner.

The patient sighed. “Who would’ve guessed I needed to catch you off guard to kill you?” he asked. From glitchy thin air, he drew a red curved blade and lunged. 

Shadow tried to dive out of the way as quickly as he could, only to be met with the cold metal piercing through his ribs and twisting slightly. His thoughts raced- he’d _never_ been outsped- but as the blade dug in deeper his thoughts fixed on what had happened the last time he and his friends were in danger. 

Thankfully, he’d survive this one. Less thankfully, his body shook as his legs buckled beneath him. As his knees hit the ground, a pair of crimson chains gathered around his wrists and tied him to the floor.

The jackal laughed and walked to the corner, where the creepy mask sat staring back at the black hedgehog. The swirls of the ears and the conical shape of the snout were beginning to make sense- it had to be the patient’s mask. The jackal donned it and sighed. _“Much better…”_

Shadow coughed, and a stain of crimson hit the floor. “You… what was that?” he asked. His curiosity was more pertinent than his panic, even with a sword in his chest. Knowing that his assailant had to be connected to the plot the Doctor was hatching, his need for intel overruled the weapon lodged deep within him.

“It’s the Ultimate Power, Shadow… the Phantom Ruby.” The patient chuckled as his voice split under the mask’s modulator. “I can bend reality to my whim with it. And right now, I’m going to do what I should have done.”

As his assailant walked forward, Shadow noticed the medic slowly getting off the floor and reaching for the Sapphire. The masked jackal breathed out and fired a quick beam from his hand and sent the Sapphire across the room, not even turning to Syll. “You think I can’t hear you squirming, hybrid?” he asked. “You flatter me with your terror.”

“Who are you?” Shadow asked. “And what was that vision?”

“When you left me as the sole survivor, you changed me, name and all. You deserved to be reminded of the depths of your heartlessness, yes, but I’m not like you- I finish what I started.” The jackal firmly grasped the handle of the blade and fired another beam behind him as Sylphic attempted to unscrew his canteen, causing the medic to let it clatter across the floor as well, water trickling slowly to the other side of the room.

Shadow hissed as the jackal slowly pulled out the blade from his chest. There seemed to be an intense fixation from his attacker’s one visible eye that was clouded both with an intense anger as well as an eerie swirl of emotional arousal, like a pack animal preparing to pounce. If his stomach wasn’t busy getting sliced, the hedgehog probably would have felt it turn.

The jackal stopped and chuckled, stopping the withdrawal of his blade as he leaned in and gripped at the hedgehog’s cheeks. “At least I’m putting you out of your misery, a luxury your pathetic self could never afford another. As for who I am, I’m not sure that it matters much- when you broke that old me, my name was forgotten. It’s better that way.”

“I’d… still like to hear it,” Shadow said. He tried to keep himself awake.

“Hm… you may call me _Infinite_ in the brief moment that remains for you.” Infinite quickly pulled the blade out and smiled as Shadow fell over, breathing shallow. “I have business to attend to.”

As Infinite turned around, he was met with Syll holding up the gem. “Don’t make a single move. It’s primed to go off without warning.” He swallowed his spit. “Now, where are you going?”

“What’s your stupid rock going to--”

There was a brief flash before Infinite hissed and lunged, taking his claws to the medic’s face before grabbing the canteen and jumping straight through the large plate-glass window of the room. A mauve aura surrounded his figure as he hovered in the open air. His hands were shaking, and his breath was audibly unsteady. “I-I don’t have time to waste playing with easily breakable toys. Farewell.”

Syll frowned as Infinite blinked out of existence before hurriedly rushing over to Shadow. The crimson chains broke and scattered like crystalline ashes in the wind the broken window now brought. The room grew colder by the second, and the hedgehog was out cold. Not dead- never dead- but out cold.

The medic scanned the floor as he examined what he’d just done. With Stella’s help, he’d gotten a more clear glimpse of what was circling around Infinite’s conscious mind like… well, _a hound._ The rubble from before, a dozen bodies buried beneath. Guns barely out of reach from the hands that weakly shook from beneath boulders. A stray twitching foot that belonged to someone nonhuman. Wherever Infinite was going, it had something to do with that scene.

He hoisted Shadow into the now-unoccupied bed and carefully wired him up to the drip before carefully dosing Shadow. “Come on, come back…” he muttered.

Stella chimed through Syll’s mind. “What was that power? It behaves like an Eye but is just so… wrong…”

“I know, Stella,” Sylphic replied. “Whoever that is, he’s fused with something very deadly. I can’t imagine that he didn’t cross paths with Ivo, wherever he came from.”

Shadow sat up and gasped. “What… what happened? Where am I?” he asked, looking around. He stared at Syll for a second before he shook his head. “Right, right…” He looked down to his chest, where the wound was already closing. 

“He got you good. Would have been out for an hour if I didn’t have adrenaline on me,” Syll replied, holding up the end of the IV tube. “I take it you’re gonna be busy pursuing him.”

“Yeah,” Shadow said. “I don’t remember the last minute before I passed out. Where did he go?”

“He sort of… teleported?” Sylphic said, he gently pulled the needle out of the black hedgehog’s arm. “When I used Stella’s power, I managed to catch a glimpse of where he was going. Well, not where, but _why._ It seems he has to warn some sort of group of a rockslide.”

“Yeah, I figured this had something to do with the mission at hand,” Shadow said. He paused as he noticed the large cuts that were still present across the medic’s left eye. “You’re… you’re healing slower than usual.”

Syll nodded. “Yeah, he got me good,” he said. “But I’ll bounce back. Not like him- I don’t know how well he will last.”

Shadow got up and began moving towards the door. Syll gripped his wrist. “What are you doing?” the black hedgehog asked.

“Wait a second,” the medic replied. “This is a perfect opportunity.”

Shadow turned back around and crossed his arms as his friend fished a red bottle out of the cabinet. “What’s that?” he asked. “You’re not recommending me another med--”

“Relax, I know Patricia gave you 200 mg. That’s pretty strong, but I guess that’s just a testament to how you were built to withstand chemicals,” he muttered. He twisted off the cap and poured out a pill before holding it up. “This is what I’ve been working on with your blood.”

Shadow watched as he popped it into his mouth and swallowed it. “You’re already developing that? Why would you leave it here in plain sight?”

“I don’t, I just figured you’d keep your mouth shut in front of G.U.N.,” Syll said. He clutched his head as the scratches began to slowly close. “You know… what they’ll do with it.”

“Fair,” Shadow said. “They’d be putting a lot more soldiers on the line with that in their hands.”

“Precisely,” Syll said. He clutched the counter and hissed as he gently bit down on his lip. “It’s still in progress, but if Infinite can take that much of a beating with his injuries I have no doubt that he’ll be able to stomach this.” 

“You look like _you’re_ having trouble stomaching that,” Shadow replied. 

As Syll slowly stood straight, the remainder of his wounds closed and disappeared. “It’s fine. I’m fine.” He held them out. “You better call the people you need to- you look like you’ve gained some valuable intel.”

Shadow nodded and carefully took the small bottle. “Yeah, and it looks like I’m on weapons procurement duty now. Someone like that could prove useful to the military.”

Syll rolled his eyes. “They’ve really got your mind twisted to think that way, haven’t they?” he asked.

“I’m not saying it because I want to think about him like that, but I have to state facts- G.U.N. would find him to be as much of an asset as I am.” He paused as he thought to himself. _Possibly more so- he outsped me._

Syll smiled. “Well, get on with it. Oh, and how’s Blue?” he asked. “I’ve been meaning to speak with her about her temperature regulation issue.”

“She’s fine. We have to keep the apartment a little warmer than usual. Roughly 74 degrees, no big deal.”

“Oh?” Syll said. “She doesn’t know about the--”

“Weighted blanket? No, Syll, this is the fifth time you’ve spoiled her holiday gifts to me. Any more and I’ll stop talking to you until the 25th,” Shadow said.

“Right…” Sylphic said. He shivered before remembering that the window was still broken. He drew the spilled water off the floor and sealed over the gap with ice. “Anyway, tell her I said hi. I won’t keep you here any longer.”

Shadow nodded as he went through the door. Before he shut it behind him he asked, “Any chance I could ask you what your favorite color is?”

Syll smiled back. “Don’t go asking questions for her, Shadow. Just tell her to surprise me.”


	3. Not My Rouge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Akshi comes to discover an anomaly in the Dreamscape, Sonic gets a *little* too handsy with one of Tails' devices. The zap is only the start of a bigger problem.

Tails frowned as she and Sonic were greeted by the clunky stare of E-123 Omega, a robot who worked with G.U.N. and often had a habit of being overly punctual. It didn’t bother her on most days, but because she was away it was more than a little bit frustrating that he’d let himself into her abode.

 _“You are late, Miss Prower,”_ Omega said. _“It’s 10:02, and you said you would be here at 10.”_

“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” she replied. “Are you here because of the new sensors I promised?” 

_“Affirmative,”_ the robot replied. He opened the door and let the fox and the hedgehog pass through before following them to the lab. _“This was related to a “gift”, as I was told.”_

“Right,” Tails said. “I figured that you could use this tech so I did my best to configure it to suit you.”

Sonic looked around the lab. “You’ve got a lot of projects you’ve been cookin’ up…” he remarked.

“Yeah, well… I’ve been replicating some of the inventions of a certain Professor from another dimension,” she explained. “After our encounter with Aria, Silver and I took the time before he left to establish a connection after I traced and stabilized the connection of the ITCH.”

“So you’ve been spending some nights just chatting it up with the old guy?” Sonic asked. “Guess great minds think alike.”

“I guess so- he’s got a few tricks up his sleeves that I’ve never even imagined, though. I suppose that’s a mad scientist for ya.” Tails sighed. “I’m still a long ways away from completing the ITCH model I have here,” she said, pointing to a nearby display where the watch was being carefully held. “There’s a few bugs in the BMM function. I’d run tests, but with the risks too high, my caution overrides my love of dangerous thrills.” She beckoned Omega over, who sat down and deactivated his bodily mechanisms. 

Sonic nodded quietly to himself. “Yeah, speaking of danger,” he said. “Um…”

Tails smiled. “Yeah, I’ve been meaning to talk about two months ago as well.” She sighed as she changed gloves with her hands out of sight, switching to her rawhide ones. “That was… frightening. You’ve been quieter than usual, and I’m not sure how that affected you.”

Sonic looked away. “Oh, it was no big deal. I get myself into trouble all the time! Who knows how many close calls I’ve had!”

Tails shook her head and removed the back panel of the robot’s chassis. “Sonic, that isn’t…” It was then that she noticed that Sonic was beginning to examine the device she’d warned about. “Um, Sonic…”

“What? It looks cool,” he said. “Besides, you probably deactivated it before putting it away, right? No need to worry so much.”

Tails thought for a moment. _Did I deactivate that?_ she asked herself. _Better be on the safe side._

As she looked back at Sonic, she hissed as she spotted him playing with it in his fingers. “S-Sonic, please look with your eyes and not—“

“I’m fine, there’s no need to worry about me!” Sonic insisted. “Seriously, Tails, I’ll be okay.”

Tails swallowed hard and pulled the new part from her workbench, eyes still locked on her best friend. She shook a bit, both upset that he’d disregard her warnings and nervous that he’d set something off. If it was the BMM, it was possible she’d have to evacuate her workshop immediately. She had a reinforced roof here, so a sudden change in height would mean that Sonic’s growth spurt would keep his head from going through the ceiling.

Omega chimed in. _“What exactly are you installing?”_

“A parietal sensor. Well, perhaps “sensor” isn’t the right word.” Tails broke her gaze to loosen a screw. “Put simply, it allows you to run simulations of scenarios at a lightning fast pace. Think of it like… imagination.”

 _“I imagine that would be interesting to experience,”_ Omega replied. 

Tails chuckled. “Still as funny as ever, I see. What have you been up to that has you in such a good mood?” she asked. She began wiring up the device, and her tongue slowly began to peek out from the edge of her lips as she focused. 

_“I don’t experience mood. However, I assume your assessment is because I got to destroy more obsolete toasters.”_ Omega made a few rapid clicking noises, so quick that they sounded like a sigh. 

“You mean Eggman robots,” Tails replied. 

_“I know what I said,”_ Omega responded. _“Will this device work in sleep mode?”_

“It should, yeah. Doesn’t use too much power,” the fox said. 

A spark came from where Tails had last seen Sonic, and she immediately dropped her tools as she spotted the blue blur lying on the floor. “Sonic!” she yelled, leaping from her placement and bounding over. “Are… are you okay?”

Sonic groaned before slowly lifting himself off the floor. “Yeah, I should be alright. I think you’re right, though- it needs work.”

Tails examined the watch for a moment. The digital clock appeared to blink over and over before glitching out and going dark. “Ugh… two months and what for?”

Sonic frowned. “Hey, buddy, it’s okay. You’ll get it working again.”

“I’m just glad nothing happened to you with one of the functions.”

“I’ll bet. Whatever that thing did to Silver was cool but I don’t think I’ll fit in here,” the hedgehog replied. He stopped momentarily as he clutched his head.

“What’s wrong?” Tails asked.

“I think the thing zapped me a bit too hard. I’m dizzy.” He paused and looked at a nearby analog clock that hung over the doorway to the more recreational part of the workshop. “I’m… gonna go watch TV. And maybe get something to eat.”

“There’s clementines in the fridge,” Tails said. She began to turn back to her work, but paused as she opened her mouth. “Are you sure you didn’t hit the wrong button?”

“I don’t think so,” Sonic replied. “I mean, I was kinda lost in how cool it looked.”

Tails smiled. “I suppose it’s nothing. Just be sure to wake up in about 20- you and I are going gift-giving today.”

As Tails returned to her work with Omega, the hedgehog left and entered the more homey part of the building and pulled a few clementines from the fridge. His fingers seemed to shake a little as he carefully but quickly peeled them and began popping the slices into his mouth. He then went to sit down and turned on a movie.

Tails still didn’t know what he had to say about the incident with Concerto. He tried to tell her, but every time he thought he’d come close, Sonic felt the undying urge to push his worries down to save face. He wasn’t sure what possessed him to be such a silent martyr, but nonetheless he was one, however afraid he was to admit it.

He pulled out his phone. 47 calls to Shadow, and that was only the ones where he picked up. That was practically every day that he’d called his rival.

The pain hit his chest like a bullet train, and he swallowed the clementine slice in his mouth as he remembered the breathing exercise. _4 in, hold 4, then 4 out, then hold 4,_ he thought.

What was happening to him? What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he say what he needed to? 

He debated calling Shadow again but hesitated. It was clear that Shadow probably had his hands tied with whatever Syll was doing. He dared not inconvenience him, too.

 _What kind of thought was that?_ he wondered. _Inconveniencing someone else? Who have I already inconvenienced? Why am I thinking like that?_

His thoughts were cut short by the loud blare of the DVD main menu. He quickly went to press play when he noticed how hard he was shaking. Gingerly, he toyed with the remote before eating three slices of citrus at once. 

“I’m losing it, I gotta get it off my chest soon,” he said. He pulled a nearby blanket over him and laid down, hoping that falling asleep to a movie would ease his mind.

It didn’t take him long to pass out, though, as he was suddenly hit with a wave of dizziness that caused his eyes to go lazy before they closed. His brain felt tangled like a pair of mid-2000s headphones in the bottom of a backpack, and his limbs felt cold as they went slack on the couch. He could barely process what happened as he slipped under.

“Sonic?” his friend’s voice called. 

There was a noticeable nudge against his shoulder and he groggily woke. “Ugh, Tails… I feel sick.”

“Should I call Syll?” the fox girl asked. She stood in front of him as the hedgehog sat up. It appeared as though she’d changed into a new outfit- a pair of cargo shorts and a navy sleeveless top. She tilted her head slightly as she examined him. “You look pale.”

“It’s probably just a little bug, that’s all,” Sonic said. _“Don’t worry about it.”_ That added command tasted bitter on his tongue.

Tails nodded and went away from the couch. “It’s okay, lemme get a glass of water to wake you up a bit more.”

As Sonic cast off the blanket, he looked at his feet. It was clear that he was experiencing some sort of vertigo- his surroundings looked different. They were off, but it wasn’t completely clear how.

He shook his head and sighed. “Tails, I need to talk to you for a second about… things.“

“I’m sorry about earlier, I figured you weren’t in a good place to discuss it,” Tails said, returning. “I mean, I watched— gah!”

Sonic’s eyes widened. “What’s… what’s wrong, Tails?” he asked, trying to hide the concern in his voice. This was the opposite emotion he wanted her to feel.

“Sonic, quick, stand up,” she said, voice suddenly more panicked than before. She stood with her shoulders shrugged up in a defensive posture. “I think… I think the zap did more than we thought.”

Sonic looked around before standing up and pursing his lips. “Yer freakin’ me out, sis,” he said.

“Sonic, what do you notice right now?” she asked. The glass of water in her hands began to shake.

“Well, I’m slightly weirded out. Everything looks like it was moved over while I was out.”

“How tall are you?” Tails asked. “Just to clarify.”

“A meter, why?” the hedgehog replied.

“Now how tall am I?” the fox asked.

“Tails, why are you acting so—“

“Answer the question.” Tails held the glass out, and Sonic gingerly took it before taking a few gulps. 

“I dunno, but you’re shorter than me.” He paused as he realized why he was being grilled. The furniture wasn’t moved, he wasn’t experiencing vertigo or anything like that. He looked into Tails’ eyes, which were now approximately level with his.

“Tails, what happened to me?”

“I think… the device _did_ do something.” 

There was a sudden lurch in Sonic’s stomach and he groaned as he clutched his head. His surroundings tilted and blurred for a moment, but soon fixed themselves again.

Tails shook a bit as her eyes went wider. “You just shrunk! You lost another two centimeters right in front of me!” She frowned and grabbed the blue blur’s wrist, dragging him into her workshop. She frantically grabbed the ITCH and looked it over. "Oh boy,” she said.

“What’s wrong?” Sonic asked.

Tails hissed as she breathed in. “The timer is messed up. I can’t read it at all. You shifted height right in front of me, so it isn’t immediate and full. If the timer is busted, then whatever it was set to might not be bound by it.”

“What are you trying to say?” Sonic asked. 

Tails sighed but her panic did not settle. “It means that if we don’t figure out what inputs were active when it went off, you could…” she paused, and the blue blur spotted a tear forming along her eyelid. 

“I could _what,_ Tails?” Sonic asked.

“You could… _shrink forever_.” She clutched the ITCH and tried to contain the clear panic in her face. “I… I should have checked to make sure everything was in order. I should have made sure I had that double-checked by another set of eyes, and—“

“Call Syll,” Sonic said.

“What?”

“Call Sylphic, he’s bound to be able to help. I mean, with what he has access to, I bet he could figure out how to reverse it before things get too bad.” Sonic paused. "He can probably tinker with the ITCH to make it undo this. If you have plans today, you gotta do them." He knew well how distressed she could get if she had to rework her schedule on short notice.

“But what about you? You can’t go gifting with me if this is happening, you’ll get lost!” Tails said, tears beginning to roll down her face. “You’ll fly out of the Tornado at the slightest breeze, or get taken by a wild animal, or—“

“Tails, take it easy,” Sonic replied. He reached to her eyes and wiped away a stray tear with his thumb. “I’ll be fine, just make sure you have a jar or something for when this gets too big for me, okay? I’ll stay put if you’ll feel better that way, even if you gotta trap me in something.” He didn’t especially like the idea of having to sit still, but he liked seeing her cry even less.

“I’d feel better if this hadn’t happened, but… okay,” she replied. She pulled out her phone and got to work reaching out to the medic.

* * *

For weeks he’d gone without speaking to Knuckles. Without speaking to Rouge. Without wandering outside of his bubble, his sanctuary. Akshi had to try every day not to break apart. He had lost his sister again, and it was more painful the second round.

Where had he gone wrong that this had happened to his comrades? That they’d waltz this dance of death until Luneria took them? Was it his fate to suffer like this, or was it ill fortune?

The questions raced through his mind, but the first seemed to be punctuated by a dull throbbing of his heartbeat. He knew why it happened, and he knew what was to come if he thought about it for too long.

The feet of his rationality slipped off of the cliff of ignorance as he plunged into the depths of what Aria did. It was her fault they were here, right?

 _Perhaps had I not slighted her,_ he thought. _If I’d just strung her along, if I had pretended to have such feelings for her…_

His thoughts fell away as a red echidna rounded the corner and caught sight of the parakeet. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?” Knuckles shouted.

“Knuckles? How did you even find me? I haven’t spoken to you in weeks,” the bird replied. “Sorry for avoiding you like this, I just—“

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’ve never met you in my life,” the echidna replied.

Akshi’s eyes narrowed. “You… don’t remember growing up together? That time I stopped being so formal? The countless synchronizations we’ve managed?”

Knuckles widened his stance. “Where is the Master Emerald? I’m supposed to be watching it and it just—“

Akshi rolled up his sleeves and moved his arms outward in a display, and a light flashed for a moment in front of the echidna's vision before he toppled over. As the parakeet approached, Knuckles shakily stood back up.

“That energy, that could only be from…” Knuckles stared at the bird. “You can’t be.”

“I am, but you’re clearly not my Knuckles,” Akshi said. “What happened?”

“We were busy in our efforts to take down the Twin Terrors, and then out of nowhere I feel my body tense up and… I’m here now.” He looked down at his hands. “What… what happened to me?”

Akshi shook his head. “The Twin Terrors? What are you even talking about?”

A violent shake rocked the floating island as a spire was erected in the distance. A city sprawled out below, and the familiar shapes sent the parakeet’s stomach into a tailspin alongside the distinct sight of a giant opal that hung above it all.

“Aria and Concerto touched down a few years ago and with their entrance we got screwed up royally. Our world is in pieces, Mast— er, um…”

The parakeet smirked, though it was short-lived as the area surrounding the cityscape grew and grew. “You can call me Akshi,” he said. “Where are you right now? Physically, I mean?”

“I don’t know, but I last remember being inside Aria’s spire.” Knuckles frowned and stared out into the world below. “Our efforts to take that madwoman down have been fruitless.”

Akshi sighed. “I’m sorry that I’ve caused even more trouble. Had I not rejected her, she wouldn’t be throwing a tantrum like this.”

The echidna paused and swiveled. “You’re responsible? Why I oughta—“ He was already raring to go, but Akshi put a hand against the teen’s face and held him away as he wildly swung at the air.

“I never intended her to be like this, I swear,” the bird explained. “It was eight-thousand years ago, and since then I’ve been trapped here. I was broken, and when they put me back together I could never come back. That’s why I’m a giant gem now.”

Knuckles stopped throwing a fit. “Wait, then what’s happened to me?”

“In all likelihood, you’ve been crystallized,” Akshi said. “Though you don’t… _feel_ broken, I guess.”

There was a loud crackle from behind them as a spindly figure came over the horizon. “Knuckles, sweetie, what trash have you found?”

Akshi shuddered- the voice was familiar. He hadn’t heard it in weeks, but the tambre was eerie. The intonation was wrong, intermixed with a sadist ready to snap at a moment’s notice.

It was Rouge.

He looked as the spider legs that sprouted from her back lifted her over a nearby platform and bounded towards them at an alarming rate. Out of instinct, Akshi grabbed Knuckles’ arm and forcibly dragged him to the edge of the island at a drop off, where he quickly jumped.

“Hey, what’s the big idea?” the echidna yelled, trying to jar his arm away. “You can’t just expect to—“

“Akshi, dear, is that you?” Luneria sounded from above. Her voice mixed with Rouge’s made him feel like he’d drank spoiled milk. 

Akshi unrolled a tiny bit of the blankness into a cloud and began skating through the air on it. He hoisted Knuckles up next to him. “Okay, stay close. We gotta find a safe spot…”

He felt no familiar tingle as his world shifted into the cityscape he’d known before. It only made sense- that was not his Rouge and this was not her city. Whatever Rouge Aria had attached herself to owned this place, and such became clear as he began to spot the hundreds of other people trapped within the limits, seemingly unaware that anything had changed.

As he passed a nearby store, he wondered what events had happened in the waking world to allow Rouge to be stolen away like that. Aria was under lockdown, but he hadn’t heard about Concerto’s whereabouts. How were they even being guarded? 

No, Nyx wouldn’t let her guard down like that. The moth was better than that. 

A razor-bladed leg pierced the side of his jacket and sent the boys tumbling to the ground. The people around the streets screamed and frantically ran, and as the spider-bat approached, a few of its legs casually struck a passerby, shattering them into dust. “Well, well, well…” Luneria said. “You don’t seem so happy to see me.”

Rouge talked alongside her. “Who the heck is this? Do you… do you two know each other?”

“Unfortunately yes, dear.” Luneria flung down another leg, and the boys barely dodged it.

“Do something!” Knuckles yelled to his companion. He glanced over to see Akshi staring wistfully at Rouge and shaking his head. “What are you doing?”

“Aria, I… and Rouge…” Akshi said. "I-I'm sorry, Aria, I..."

Luneria geared up for a direct hit. “Bye bye, birdie,” the spider cooed.

As the leg came down, a flash of light from a falling stranger hit the spider, followed by a strong blow to the body from a second figure. Aria toppled over and hissed, her legs coming undone from Rouge’s back. “Why you little--”

“Ah, ah, ah, Itsy Bitsy. Your waterspout’s getting kicked in today with all of that dribble,” a familiar blue hedgehog said, landing in front of her. He dusted off a red bandana that he had tied around his neck. “Now, where do you wanna get hit next?”

A second hedgehog landed in front of Akshi. “Stop it with the banter, Sonic. We came here for the bird.” He held out a hand to the parakeet. “Are you broken?” he asked.

Akshi looked the Ultimate Lifeform up and down. He was different from the Shadow he’d seen previously. A colder stare, a blue scarf hung around his neck to contrast his teammate, and a deep scar that ran down the middle of his forehead. “I’m… fine…” His eyes widened and he grabbed Shadow’s arm, flinging him off to the left as a boot from Aria tried to connect. For a moment, he felt the vibration of a shatter from deep within the hedgehog.

Knuckles frowned. “You guys are stuck here too?” he asked.

Sonic stared at him before looking to Shadow. “Still the same thing,” he said. “Shadow, what’s our next move? Do I kick him?”

“No, we do what we do when this happens.” Shadow picked himself off the ground and blocked another kick. “I need an opening, we can’t get to the safe zone without--”

Akshi held up his hand and whispered, a flash hitting the spider-bat as she went for a third kick. “Will this do?” he asked, slowing her down.

Shadow paused for a moment and looked him up and down before nodding. “I suppose. Sonic, bird boy, gather up.”

“Okay, _mom,_ I get it, no fun for me,” he said. “We can’t take Knuckles with?” he added.

“No,” Shadow said. “She’ll track us down. We can’t afford to have a repeat of your Dreamscape, can we?”

Sonic painfully looked at Knuckles as he locked arms with Shadow. “I’m sorry, bud. I’m really, _really_ sorry.”

As Knuckles jumped forward to grab them, Shadow raised his voice. “Chaos--”

It took a moment as the three of them blinked back into existence, somewhere entirely new. It was dark and sterile, and very _very_ metallic. “Alright, we’re in the clear,” Shadow said. “No signs of Aria at all.”

Akshi frowned. “We can’t just leave him out there! Aria will break him!” he said. There was a clear amount of panic in his voice. Knuckles was his Guardian, after all.

Sonic frowned, clearly discontent with what was on his mind. “Pal, if we let him come with, Aria will find us. He’s been searching for us for more than a year.”

“That… doesn’t make sense,” Akshi said. “He acted like he just woke up here.”

“That’s because he keeps getting frozen and unfrozen,” Shadow said, scratching at his spines. “She’s been making sure he doesn’t get any funny ideas, and when he does, she wipes him back to square one.” He stopped and bit his lip.

“What’s wrong?” Sonic asked.

“She’s calling me,” Shadow said. “I’m going to Section Epsilon, you know the rest. Show the bird where he can stay.”

Sonic sighed. "Sorry, he's moody. Kind of his thing." He offered his hand. "Come on, I'll show you around the place. Welcome to our little crow's nest, the ARK."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pssst... you might want to read this: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25695922/chapters/62389465
> 
> Trust me, it's important to the foreign-yet-familiar characters that have entered the playing field. :3


	4. Young Blue Moth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Syll comes over to assess Sonic's condition, coming to a conclusion that leaves Tails more worried than before. But that doesn't stop Tails from offering her first gift to the medic, which brings an ally from the Dreamscape into the light of the world. Well, sort of.

Sylphic knocked on the threshold to the workshop. “Alright, I’m here, what’s the dam—“ He stopped mid-sentence as his eyes locked on the blue blur. “Wow, um…”

“Stop staring,” Sonic grumbled. He was sitting on the workbench now, feet hanging off of the sides like a small child. He winced as he felt his body collapsing in further and sighed as he cautiously bit down in another piece of fruit. He was clearly embarrassed that he’d lost another three centimeters.

Tails frowned and sighed. “I messed up bigtime,” she said, playing with her thumbs. “I figured you could help reverse it with the ITCH.”

The hybrid shook his head in sympathy. “I can do my best, but first we need to figure out how this is affecting his body. This violates several laws of physics.”

“Well yes, but so does a lot of what we do,” Tails clarified. “Still, I don’t see why checking his body will do anything.”

“Well, you said he shrunk in front of you, right? How is it supposed to work with the device?” The medic set down his medical bag and began rifling through it, searching for a lancet. 

“It has a charge set and uses it to shrink or grow the person. It _should_ do it all at once, though.” The fox was nervous as she turned to Sonic. “Do you need any more fruit?”

“I should be good to go,” Sonic said. “Though I feel dizzy again…” As he stopped speaking, he lost another few centimeters. “I think… maybe when I get woozy, the shrinking hits.”

Syll nodded. “There we are,” he said, pulling out the small plastic item along with a band-aid and a cotton ball. “Alright, this is gonna pinch you a bit. Oh, and Ms. Prower? I need you to run the sink in here,” he said as he approached. “I need your permission to perform this action, Sonic- it’s a little invasive but it goes faster than other things.”

Tails walked over and turned the tap on, wondering what Syll was up to. “Where’s your canteen?”

“It got stolen by a patient,” the medic replied flatly. “Sonic, do I have your permission or not?”

Sonic held his arm out. “I mean, as long as it isn’t uncomfortable, I don’t see why not,” he said. “You aren’t gonna drown me, are you?”

“I figured that was water under the bridge, no pun intended,” Sylphic replied, drawing some of the liquid from the sink as he adjusted the lancet on the back of the hedgehog’s arm. “Okay, breathe in…”

Sonic hissed a little as the medic pressed down on the button. A sharp pain protruded from the device and cut into his skin. But before the blue blur could comment, the hybrid had pulled water over the wound and his eyes had gone soft.

“Uh, Syll?” Sonic asked, creeped out that the medic was staring straight through him. For a mere second, the eerie stare was the only worry he had, because after that he began to feel a strange prickling sensation coming from inside of him, pulsing more noticeably with his always-fluttering heartbeat. He shuddered in disturbance of what it could have been, but judging by how Syll’s powers functioned, he had a sickening guess.

Sylphic snapped back to attention and withdrew the water from Sonic’s wound, simultaneously ending the gross feeling that came over him. “Sorry, perhaps I was a bit too invasive.”

“What was that?” he asked.

“I’ve been trying new techniques to read blood without a machine,” he explained. “Unfortunately, it isn’t as _detailed_ as a machine.”

“How exactly does that work?” Tails asked. 

“Well, the word isn’t accurate, but I can “taste” that his blood sugar keeps dwindling.” He paused, pulling a notebook from his bag and beginning to work on notes. “If I had to guess, that’s the power source the charge is likely working with.”

Sonic shivered. “Okay, maybe tell people your plan before you do it next time at least. Anyway, maybe that’s why I’m so hungry…”

“Your body is trying to keep up with the shrinking by spending energy.” Syll frowned, furiously scribbling. “At the rate you’re going, you’ll be out of sight in less than 24 hours.”

Sonic coughed as he spied Tails tearing up again. “Well, what can we do to stop it?”

“I figure if we can get the device working,” Tails explained, “I can match your height and give you the watch to get back to your regular self. The abort sequence should be able to return you to normal once we manage to get the ITCH operational again.”

“Tails, how am I supposed to get it operational?” Syll asked. 

“Oh, right,” the fox said. She walked over to the device and picked it up before moving to her workbench. “This laptop should have most of the code. Now all that’s left…” her sentence petered out as she pulled open a window and began typing in a chat.

Syll shook his head as he peeled open a bandage and gently placed it on Sonic’s arm. “I’m not sure how this will play out.”

“Me neither, that’s why I’m…” Sonic cut himself off. “Forget it.”

“I understand it isn’t my place to pry, but you seem to be more touchy since what happened in October.” He glanced around, trying to parse out the possibilities of what the hedgehog could possibly be upset about, but as his face changed from puzzlement to recognition, the blue blur locked his hand around Syll’s arm and shook his head.

“Don’t you dare say a word,” he warned. His voice was colder than usual, and the shudder it sent down the medic’s spine was enough to register the command as a prelude to a possible threat.

Syll nodded and continued, shrugging the hedgehog’s hand away. “In any case, you shouldn’t be too bad off so long as you keep eating. Yes, you’re going to shrink regardless, but if you don’t eat, your blood sugar will plummet so low that you could suffer severe consequences.”

Tails pulled away from the laptop and swiveled. “What sort of consequences?” she asked.

Sonic, despite shaking his head, seemed to be unnoticed as the medic spoke. 

“Well,” Syll explained, “I guess the best way to put it is… seizures or even a coma.”

Tails swallowed hard, and Sonic could see another set of tears forming along her eyes. “Syll, are you serious?” the hedgehog asked. “You had to say—“

“But if he eats, he’ll get smaller!” Tails said. 

“And if he doesn’t, he will spend all his energy on a single reduction in size and probably pass out,” Syll replied. “This is called a ‘Catch 22’, Tails.”

“I know what a Catch 22 is, Sylphic, I’m not a…” Her voice petered out again. “Oh, Sonic, I’m so sorry, I…”

“Hey, hey!” Sonic replied, jumping from the counter and coming close. “I told you I’d stay put if you needed me to. I know it’s hard, but I can do it for you.” He went to wipe a tear again when he began to feel faint. “Ugh…”

“Sonic, what’s…” Tails yelped as her friend collapsed. “Syll! Do something!”

The medic propped up Sonic as he panted, clearly clinging to awakeness as he tried to keep his eyes ajar. Syll motioned Tails to get something to eat, and as she went to grab a snack with high sugar, he did his best to rummage through his medical bag for smelling salts in the event that the hedgehog were to go under.

“You can’t be serious,” Syll said. “Is that why Shadow’s cortisol levels spiked again?”

“Shut up,” Sonic said. “I already said not to say anything, so don’t. Not a word, and _definitely_ not a lecture.”

Syll shook his head. “You’re just as stubborn as him, you know.”

Tails returned and knelt down before handing her friend a cookie. Sonic, still woozy, scarfed it down quickly, which was followed by massive spike in his shrinking. His eyes fluttered shut for a moment, and when he jolted awake again, he’d lost a substantial amount of height.

“Alright,” Syll said. “It seems that avoiding eating will inevitably result in a larger spike due to having to rely on the reserves of your blood sugar.”

“So… keep snacking?” Sonic asked. “That doesn’t seem so hard.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have to worry too much about doing it all the time. Having something every hour or so should keep you steady. Any more and the process might attempt to burn off extra sugar. Too little and… well, you saw what just happened.”

Sonic stood up and, to Tails’ bewilderment, only seemed to go up to his friend’s shoulder. “Oh boy,” he said.

“Heh, you’re shorter to me than I normally am to you,” Tails replied. She was clearly trying to crack a smile, and so the blue blur casually smirked back.

“How… how tall _am_ I now?” he asked. 

“Oh!” Tails replied, scurrying over to her workbench. She dug around in the drawer. “I should have a measuring tape here…”

Syll stood up, one hand holding his chin as he thought. It was then that he saw the icon on the laptop’s text chat flashing green. “Ms. Prower, I believe you’re getting a call.”

“Ah, right,” Tails said. She pulled the measuring tape out before going over to the computer and pressing a few keys.

A large window opened, revealing the unmistakable sight of Professor Von Schlemmer. There were a few boxes being casually levitated in the background, a sign that Sonic frowned at as he shifted uncomfortably.

“Vatts,” the man said. “Vhat’s the dama—“ His eyes lock onto Sonic, and his pupils went narrow. “Oh, don’t tell me you set it to a value larger zhen one…”

“I fixed that,” Tails explained. “It isn’t very user-friendly, you know.”

A younger voice chimed from behind the Professor. “I dunno, it wasn’t _that_ complicated…” The boxes dropped and jingled as the psychic hedgehog caught sight of the blue blur. “Whoa, Sonic, what the heck happened?” Silver asked. “You’re shorter than Tails!”

“I got zapped by Tails’ doohickey and next thing I know I’m losing height inch by painful inch!” Sonic explained, ears folding slightly as the new set of eyes looked him over. “We have to go gift giving and I’m stuck slowly shrinking like a piece of plastic in an oven!”

Silver frowned. “You could always wait until this blows over, Tails,” he said. “Your friend’s health—“

“No!” Sonic said. His voice was louder than usual, and he held a grimace on his face as he glared daggers at Silver.

The younger hedgehog retracted his hand and his body curled a bit, perhaps believing that he'd misspoke.

Tails frowned. “Sonic, are you—“

“We are going gift-giving, I can’t just sit around and wait for a cure for this!” he said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to just let myself disappear and…”

“Why are you suddenly so stir-crazy?” Syll asked. “Is it—“

Sonic glowered at him. “No, it’s not that! I just…” He realized he was starting to get agitated and settled down after a few deep breaths. “I _just_ think that Tails should get her schedule done.” He turned and looked at her. “I know how upset you get when you have to cancel something like that.”

Tails paused as she scanned the floor, devising an answer. “Okay, we will go. But _please…_ don’t get lost.” She walked over to him and pulled down the measuring tape. “61 centimeters, or roughly two feet.”

Sonic swallowed. He’d nearly lost a quarter of his height between waking up and now. Who knows how much more he could lose if he wasn’t careful. He shuddered and walked towards the kitchen. “We need to get packed, and quick!” he said. “We might be behind schedule, but I’m still just as speedy.”

Tails nodded. “You get ready, I still have something I need to do,” she said, turning to the medic as the hedgehog left. “If I’m gift-giving, I may as well start here, right?”

“Oh? You’re giving it to me now? I thought you were gonna wait,” Syll said. 

Tails rummaged in a nearby drawer and drew out a package of bulbs with a bow. “Sorry, I forgot to wrap yours since I finished it so recently,” she said. Her voice was still lost in concern as she handed them over. 

“You _made_ these? They’re really small,” the medic said. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait?”

Tails grinned. “Hey, it would be nice to see if they work. Wouldn’t want to have wasted a week tweaking them.”

Syll nodded and reached into the medical bag, pulling out a thin but substantial slate with a familiar stone embedded into the back of it. The retro design mixed with the modern sleek colors almost gave it the appearance of a Walkman. He carefully rolled a dial up on the side and made a few taps on a haptic pad. “Stella, wakey wakey.”

“Oh?” Stella said. Her voice rang out over the small speaker, crackling slightly as the volume peaked. Syll turned the sound down slightly. 

“Yeah, we got the bulb. You’re ready for this, right?” Syll asked. His eyes looked star-struck- he was already excited. “I know it isn’t much, but--”

“Hey, getting to see the world outside for the first time without your help sounds like a dream come true!” she said. “Don’t act like that.”

Tails spotted a slight blush on Syll’s face as he scratched at the back of his neck. She smiled and handed him a screwdriver. “Guess it’s time to say hello, isn’t it?”

“You… you don’t know how excited I am,” Syll explained. “I… it hasn’t been easy to see her. I can’t even get into her Dreamscape so easily.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault! You know how shy I am,” Stella replied. Her voice rang like a bell. “Tails, was it? It’s nice to finally talk face to… well, voice now, but face very, _very_ soon!”

Tails chuckled, though it was clear her thoughts were still resting elsewhere as she kept eying the door. “This should allow you to have access to the outside world. You won’t be able to touch anything yet, though. I’m sorry.”

Syll finished putting the bulb in and shut the panel before screwing the screws back in place. “That’s alright, Tails, I have a workaround.”

“Oh?” Tails asked.

For a moment, there was a flicker from the bulb, and Syll hurriedly placed the slate down on the workbench, gem up. From beneath, the bulb glowed through the gem, allowing the light to scatter appropriately. “Alright, Stella, it should be--”

The moth blinked into the space above the gem, bandaged bare feet hovering slightly over its sleek surface. She was a small figure, perhaps only thumb-sized, and yet her presence seemed much larger. She sounded younger than she looked, perhaps by a year or two, as she appeared to be sixteen, perhaps seventeen. 

The blue insect looked down at herself and spun, allowing the flowing dress that came to her ankles to flutter in a breeze only she could feel. Her eyes then locked on Syll, who just… stared in awe.

“Um…” the medic said, blush spreading further across his cheeks, “I-it’s… nice to meet you. I didn’t realize you were so…”

Stella laughed. “You’re a bonehead, you know that?” she said. She looked at Tails for a moment before bouncing up and down and looking around the room. “Thank you so much! This is the best gift I could possibly have asked for! I…”

Syll bit down on his lip as he began to tear up. “S-Stella…” He chuckled and wiped his eyes. “Heh, silly girl…” 

“Sorry,” Stella replied. She pulled up her dress and carefully began walking along the surface of the gem. “So… how far can I go with this?” she asked.

“Well,” Tails said. “Since you’re using your powers both to manipulate the machine and gem, I suppose anywhere the light can reach.”

Stella stepped off the edge of the Sapphire and walked to the edge of the slate. As soon as her foot dipped down out of sight, it disappeared. “It appears you are correct.”

Syll smiled. “You should have enough space in the air though, right?”

Stella half-heartedly chuckled, but the somber look on her face suggested a bitter pain had been remembered, or something to that effect. She uncomfortably adjusted the shawl she had draped over her shoulders. “Yes, I suppose so.”

Syll pursed his lips for a moment. A stinging pain seemed to be biting him in the back, but he dared not press in front of Tails. He opted for a look towards her and a thought in his mind that simply said, _“I’ll ask later.”_ He hoped she would hear him.

“Thank you,” Stella said, though it was out loud instead. The hybrid jumped, but covered his startle with a laugh before pulling out a silver pen. He clicked down on a button on the side, and the space around the button began to glow a gentle white.

“What’s that?” Stella asked. “Heck, what’s… _any_ of this stuff?” 

“Looks like you’re gonna need a crash course, aren’t you?” Tails asked.

“Indeed,” Syll said, picking up a screw and holding it for reference. He swiftly traced the basic shape of it with the pen in the area where Stella’s light could touch, and a series of white lines formed into the general shape of a screw, which then dropped at the little moth’s feet. “How’s this?” he asked.

Stella tilted her head and gently poked at it with a foot. “What’s… the purpose of this object?”

“It’s constructive, meant to hold something together. Think nails, but harder to pull out.” Syll turned to Tails. “You better get cracking. We’ll work on the fix while you and Sonic go out to make deliveries.”

Tails nodded. “Alright. If you make any discoveries, call me, text me… you know the drill,” she replied. “I’ll make sure Sonic stays fed, don’t worry.”

“Good. I think you and I both know how serious the stakes are,” he said. “Now go! You should be able to get it done and be back here before nightfall. By then it should be managed.”

“Oh, before I forget- have you seen Shadow since this morning?” the fox asked him.

“No,” Syll said, drawing a sphere and dropping it for Stella. “He’s gone after the patient I brought in. He called himself “Infinite”. Strange fellow, seems to be headed to stop something from happening.”

“A patient?” Tails asked. 

“Yeah,” Stella said. “My sister sensed him coming and he came through the Lunar Gate. He was badly beaten up- who knows what happened in his world.”

“Yeah,” Syll said. “He knew Shadow, and not in a friendly way, Ms. Prower. I would wait to give Shadow his gift until _after_ he comes back- if Infinite knows him, he might know you. I wouldn’t want to get tangled up with that guy, considering he outsped Shadow like that.”

Tails shuddered. “I was hoping to get his gift to him, but considering where he is… I’ll respect your judgement call. Take care, and check in with me at sundown, okay?” she asked.

Syll nodded. “Go ahead now- I can hear Sonic tapping his foot in the other room.”

She listened for a few seconds and then shook her head. “I knew I needed that floorboard fixed…” Tails remarked, leaving the room to return to her friend.

Syll shook his head before clambering onto the workbench seat. He cracked his knuckles and began looking through the code on the watch. He looked at the chat and unmuted the microphone. “Alright, Professor, let’s get to work.”

Stella cleared her throat. “Um, Sylphic?” she asked.

“Yes?” the hybrid replied. His fingers played with the watch, which was still glitching a bit on the timer function. 

“Thank you for… not bringing it up in front of Tails.”

“I just figured you’d rather bring it up in time. Though I suspect I know what it is, even without you saying it,” Syll said, typing out a chat message before turning the laptop. “Stella, say hello to our interdimensional buds.”

Silver’s beaming face was present on the screen, and he was looking cheerily from his side of the rift at the young moth. “Heya! I’m Silver!”

Stella tensed up for a moment before relaxing and drawing the sides of her skirt up. She bent over and bowed her head, simultaneously bending her foot in a curtsy. “H-Hello, Silver. Is everyone in your world so big?”

“Nah, you’re just really small,” Silver said, putting his thumb and forefinger in the appropriate squeezing gesture. “Sorry, Sylphic, it looks like the Professor went to the restroom. It looks like he’s been in there for a while.”

“Can you… make sure he’s okay? We’re kinda on a time limit here.”

Silver nodded. “I’ll go make sure he didn’t eat the wrong thing again…”


	5. On A Day Like Today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An impostor is in the Squad's midst- and Pi learns who it is.

Pi paused carefully as they set up their tent, watching pensively as another Squad member seemed eager to get to the lunch rush that happened in their “mess hall”, a long tent that seemed to stretch to accompany their band of merry canines.

Well, mostly merry. On a day like today, the boss was anything but happy. Earlier that day, they’d lost a member of their team, caught in the neck by something sharp or simply a bullet that had grazed a little too close and severed a vital artery. Needless to say, the air hung heavy with somber reverence for the fallen.

The life of a mercenary was never easy. Neutral until commissioned, and then neutral again after payment, they were used to being “useful”. The lives of their members were always at risk- it was the price they paid for a life free of rules, free of obligations to this country or that.

Pi clenched their fist. This was no ordinary loss, not at all. They knew that, the boss knew that. The Squad member, Hachi, had directly disobeyed an order to withdraw, instead opting to attempt taking out one of the Spider troupe soldiers that had been dispatched to the desert base. 

And though the boss hadn’t directly watched, he still had to bury the body. 

No,  _ they all  _ did. The Squad shared in their emotions. Every victory, every fight… and every loss.

Pi shook their head. “Why did you have to mess up so bad, Hachi? At a time like this?”

Pi knew well about their boss’s temperament. Though he wasn’t quick to spill over in his anger, he definitely had an intensity that was hard to match. Insubordination was a huge offense to him, not easy to correct in his Squad. Luckily, Hatchi was not an old soul to the team, thus his disobedience could have easily been chocked up to not understanding the consequences. Such consequences were unfortunately something he painfully felt firsthand, if only for a brief moment.

“Uno, what’s got you down?” a feminine voice asked. 

Pi lifted their head and sighed. “You know I don’t like that name, Trois,” they replied.

Trois smiled. “Sorry, Pi… it’s still so new to me,” she said. “Even so, my question still stands.”

Pi shook their head. “Boss is not gonna listen to me, not after what happened today. I feel it in my bones.”

Trois chuckled. “Pi, he can’t ignore your request. It’s not like he’s made of stone.”

Pi frowned. “That’s not what I mean. I mean, today was a clear indication that he should have listened, but  _ no _ . Whatever he’s got in his head has made him think this is a good idea.”

“Ah, so it’s about the deal with Eggman, then, isn’t it?” Trois asked, sitting down. She began sharpening her blade with a small whetstone she could carry. “You know he’s not a fan of discussing that, then? Smart of you to hold off.”

“Yeah, especially so close to my time,” Pi remarked. Their eyes locked onto Trois’ hands for a moment. “You never told me you were left handed…”

Trois paused for a moment and grinned softly. There was a strange and solemn look on her face, as if she was lost in thought. “I’m… ambidextrous,” she said. “It’s easier to sharpen the blade on this side with this hand anyways.”

Pi nodded and returned to the subject before. “What task do you think the Boss is gonna set for me?” they asked. “I hope it’s something worthwhile, I’d hate to be put too far out of my depth.”

“The Captain is fair with what he decides,” she said, stopping her sharpening for a moment and examining the rookie. “Are you nervous?”

It was standard practice for the Squad to have an induction rite. Usually such a process involved providing a vital skill to surviving in the wilderness. After all, they didn’t  _ always  _ have work, and remaining alive was important to any living being. Trois, for example, could find water easily. And Pi had a near-perfect memory and a sharp assessment of others. Even so, it didn’t stop them from showing clear concern on their face.

Trois patted their shoulder, snapping them from their daze. “Take it easy, pup. You’ll be in the ranks soon. I don’t wanna be so morbid, but there’s sort of… an open space available for you now.”

Pi bit their lip. They knew she wasn’t trying to be insensitive, but they couldn’t help but read her morbid humor as a bit tasteless. It almost didn’t sound like her, like she had perhaps taken something that made her act strange.

They sighed, knowing well it couldn’t be helped- jackals, themself included, were dead-set in their ways early in their lives. For all they knew, this loss of theirs may have changed her tremendously.

As the young jackal rose from their perch and finished their work, they failed to notice the Captain’s approach. He was stately, noble in his stern and steely gaze as he assessed the work of the Squadmate.

“How long have you been at this?” he asked, startling Pi and causing them to drop to their last stake into the desert dust. 

Pi caught themself breathing heavily and settled down. “Geez, you scared me, sir.”

The Captain raised an eyebrow. “Well?”

“R-Right,” Pi said. “Only a few minutes. Trois came to talk with me.”

“Right, she said something about a name change?” the Captain asked.

Pi reddened a bit. “That swarthy…” They pushed down the anger they felt at being outed. “Yes, the name change. I wish she hadn’t said anything.”

“And you expect me to believe you’d breach the subject yourself?” their boss said. “You’re paying yourself too much credit.”

“Heh, if you knew then she would have  _ come with me  _ to tell you, sir,” they replied. “But that’s hardly the point.”

Pi knew not to get too snippy at a time like this. The Captain of the Squad, Zero the Jackal, was not in a good mood despite the cheerful banter. The mismatched gaze cut sharper than any knife as he pensively watched the pup gingerly pick the stake out of the dirt and hammer it into place. 

“Well, she’s right, you know. I’m not made of stone,” Zero said. He held out a long piece of green cloth. “You dropped this at the pass. I thought I lost another one because of it.”

Pi nodded and took the bandana, tying it back around their head. “Thank y--”

“Don’t do it again, or else you will be having more trouble than just a cold forehead,” the Captain said, turning to leave. “Do I make myself clear, Pi?” he asked, stopping to smirk over his shoulder.

“I-I…” The younger jackal saluted. “Yes, boss.”

“Good,” Zero said. There was a hint of bitter solemness that returned to his eyes. “Now come along, we have plans to discuss with the rest of the Squad. You have tasks ahead of you.”

The tent was filled with members of the team, with the Squad Elite numbering around eight when including Captain Zero and the rookies being paired one to every two Elites. While they were all technically considered Squad, the rookies were uninitiated in their task. The means of the pairing was such that one of the two Elites would always have an eye on them, and they’d be watched in shifts.

Pi sat down at the table next to both Trois and Zwei, their partnered Elites. Zwei shot him a cheeky grin from over his red neckscarf and ruffled the younger jackal’s fur. “You should be a lil more careful out there, bud! We thought you were a goner!” He carefully slid them a roll. “Anyways, heard you are havin’ a special kind of day today, so I sweet-talked my way into getting you an extra.” 

Trois rolled her eyes. “If you keep spoiling them, they’re gonna turn out just like…” She stopped. “Nevermind.”

“Geez, Trois, you’re touchy today…” Zwei said. “Was it really--”

“Don’t,” Trois warned, giving him a death glare. “You know better than to test me.”

Zwei tucked his ears. “Geez, okay…”

Trois tilted her head and gave him an astonished look. “We practically raised that boy together, Zwei. Don’t you think you could show a little more solemnity?”

The other jackal looked at her and raised his yellow-gloved hands in defense. “Hey, it was  _ your _ idea to move forward.”

Trois sighed. “You’re right.” She thumbed the edge of her green tank top and shook her head. “Perhaps it’s best I don’t throw stones.”

“No, no,” Zwei said, leaning forward. “You deserve to mourn, too.”

Zwei and Trois were certainly amourous towards one another on occasion, stealing kisses when they were not on duty. Pi understood that as some of the oldest members aside from the boss, their bond was important. But something was off about this particular interaction- something was wrong with Trois.

Zwei noticed as well as he tried to wrap his arms around her- the young woman was touchy, discontented with the idea of affection. She shrank away from him, despite him having done nothing. And she damn near hit him when he went to plant a kiss on her forehead. “What’s wrong with ya, T?” he asked, catching her arm as it swung to smack him in the face.

Trois didn’t say anything, only gave him a look that begged him to back off. Zwei did so, but furrowed his brow.

The Captain held up a hand, quelling the small crowd of rowdy mercs. “Quiet, everyone!” he commanded.

As his eyes fell on Pi, the rookie shuddered. That look was a look of resolution, of determination. They only wondered which announcement this was- their new name or their initiation date.

Zero looked at Trois, who held a similar commanding look back at him. “Trois,” he said, putting a hand out to her, “do you have an announcement to make?”

She turned to Pi and gave them a look, a clear question in her eyes. Pi only nodded back, granting the permission that she needed to speak.

She stood up and cleared her throat. “Comrades, it is in this moment that I wish to call attention to our understudy. They wish to be referred to as Pi from this moment forward. I don’t wanna hear any blabbering about it or--”

“Trois,” Zero said, raising an eyebrow. “Allow me.” He paused for a breath. “I better not hear anyone disrespecting our rookies, including Pi. They may not be full Squad like the rest of us, but they are still family, and family always counts. Do I make myself clear?” he asked.

“Crystal,” they all replied. One of the other rookies shot Pi a dirty look. Pi stuck their tongue out at them. 

“Good,” Zero said, sitting down. “Now, while you’re eating, I’ll get our assignments out of the way. As you all know, we are still on the Robotnik assignment,” he said. “We’ve been asked to travel to Mystic Jungle to guard the base there. It seems that the Federation’s intel has caught wind of the Doctor’s little project, and so we are to be acting as a defense squad down there while he gets the necessary things cleared out and locks the base down.”

Pi watched as Trois bit her lip before hiding it with a bite of hardtack. Her gaze was stern and she seemed to be eager to speak, but her mouth dared not defy the Captain. She glanced around the tent at the other occupants. 

“Trois, you’re on high perimeter,” Zero said. “We need to be on guard for any intruders.”

“Say no more, sir,” she said. “You can rely on me.”

“Good, I’d have nobody else.” He turned and began rattling off the other assignments, but Zwei looked at his protege and gave them a frown. 

“Something’s fishy,” he mouthed to Pi, just out of the eyeshot of Trois. Pi nodded once in reply.

“Zwei?” Zero said, raising an eyebrow. “Is there something you wanna say?”

The jackal beside Pi stiffened a bit. “S-sorry sir, Trois has been acting weird lately. She won’t even let me hold her.”

Trois glared at him. “I told you, I’m not feeling well after today!” she said, miffed. “Why can’t you get that through your--”

“Trois,” Zero said, standing up and walking over to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, to which she prickled and scrunched herself up. “Trois, we’re trying to move forward.”

“Sir,” she replied. “I…”

She began breathing heavy, and before long she was clutching her chest. Zero nodded, returning quickly to his chair and grabbing a small cactus button from a bag beside him. 

He came back over and offered it to her. “Here,” he simply said before handing it to her. 

She frowned before hissing, failing to realize her claws had dug through her leg in her grief. She reluctantly took the medicine the Captain gave before downing it with a gulp of water. “I’m going to need more than that. It was… horrific.”

Zero nodded. “I know how much he meant to you,” he replied. He looked at Zwei. “Since you’re hers, you’d do well to make up for upsetting her by going to fetch more of that cactus,” he said. “Does that work for you?”

“Yessir,” Zwei said. “I’ll do my best.” He paused for a moment as he pensively stared at his partner. “Hang in there, Trois. I’m sorry…”

Zero looked at Pi. “You’ll be on watch with Trois. You two are going to be up on top of the butte watching our borders. That won’t be a problem, will it, Pi?”

“No, boss, not at all,” Pi replied. They were concerned about Trois being with them, but that was mostly because Pi knew how touchy most jackals were to any sort of outside comfort, including their guardian. 

“Alright,” Zero said, raising his voice. “You lot are to report to your stations in twenty. Failure means getting a talk.” He raised his glass. “For the Squad.”

“For the Squad!” the team cried. Pi raised their glass, but only mouthed the words as they kept their gaze on their teammate.

Little happened between then and reaching the top of the small butte that the encampment surrounded. Pi was huffing and puffing a bit, but Trois didn’t seem to be winded at all by the climb. It was a decent height too- the members of the Squad that the two of them could see looked like beetles from their vantage point.

Pi sighed. “This is probably going to be a pretty boring shift,” they said. “The wind is low, the sky is clear… we can see shadows for miles. Only way somethin’s gonna slip past is if it’s sand colored.”

“Yeah, definitely,” Trois replied, resting on a rock. She seemed only half-interested as she took a swig of water. “Pi, I’m sorry for my earlier behaviour,” she said.

“What… what do you mean? If you have anyone to apologize to, it’s Zwei. You snapped at  _ him,  _ not me,” Pi replied. They picked at their ears a bit. “Why do you feel the need to say sorry to me?”

“It’s… complicated,” Trois said. “I doubt you’d believe my reasons for being so touchy. Zwei would but… you’re more clever.”

Pi blushed. “Um… thanks, I guess?” they said. They looked around, tracing the border with their eyes for an initial scan. “Listen, you’re my guardian, this seems like a conflict of int--”

“What? No, no, no, that’s not what I’m getting at,” Trois said. “I asked the boss to put me here because I need to talk to you specifically, out of earshot.”

Pi furrowed their brow. “Trois, you’re acting weird again.”

Trois paused and sighed, trying to relax. “Remember… when you said that we didn’t need the Doctor?” she asked.

“All the way back in Mystic Jungle? All those weeks ago? Yeah, of course I do,” Pi replied. “You’re not setting me up, are you?”

“No, because you’re right,” Trois replied. “We shouldn’t have trusted him.”

Pi tilted their head. Trois sounded nuts- earlier she’d said otherwise, and before then she’d stood behind the Captain’s decisions to move forward on this assignment. Nothing seemed to indicate that she was even remotely thinking about changing plans. Her behaviour was off too- she wasn’t known to shun Zwei’s comforting, and when she’d gotten concerned in the tent, she wasn’t glancing towards the ground as though she was turning her thoughts inward- she was looking at her teammates, all of which were fine.

It was in that moment that they spotted someone along the border, bound and gagged, distant enough to be out of range from the ground. They squinted to hopefully spot at least another detail or two, and after a moment Pi felt the sensation of cold metal against his neck.

“Don’t move,” Trois said. Her voice was jittery and cold like the kiss of winter. “Tell me what you see, Pi.”

The rookie frowned. “Ma’am, I--”

_ “Ochey kur, Pi…” _

Squad Pidgin. Pi had written it a while back, and they knew three things about its usage: it was introduced to the rest of the team recently; few had mastered it yet, and; Trois was not one of those who’d learned much of it.

Pi swallowed and looked forward. “I see a jackal, tied up, in a green tank top and brownish cargo pants. Her hair is pulled back with a red hairtie. She’s gagged, and she is immobile and out of earshot.” They paused. “Her name is Trois.”

“Indeed,” Trois said from behind. 

“If she’s out there, then… who are you?” they asked.

“Why don’t you look down at the sword?” Trois asked. “That should be enough information to go off of.”

Pi glanced down at the crimson red metal that was against their jugular. The blade curved at the end, and within the crossguard was a smooth blue gem. Their eyes widened- there was only one member with that weapon.

“Boss?” they asked. Their mind was trying to process and reconcile this Captain and their Captain in the same room earlier. “I don’t understand.”

Trois’s voice shifted, now reflecting the young jackal’s Captain’s one, but tripled. “Don’t make a sound,” he said. 

Pi breathed in and out. “I’m trying to comprehend how there’s two of you, sir. If you are a shapeshifter, you could clearly be impersonating the Captain as well.”

The other jackal lowered the blade. “Turn around,” he said.

Pi frowned. “If you are who your sword portrays, then I have to ask why you think I’m right. I want an answer before I see you.”

The strange Captain was quiet.

“Boss, grant me that at least. How are there two of you, and what did you mean earlier?” Pi asked.

“In a few days, you’re all going to die,” the other jackal said.

Pi snickered. “That’s it? A vague warning? You have to be—“

The younger jackal’s shoulder was gripped tight and they were spun to face their assailant. The distinctive markings of the Captain were telltale signs, but he wore a rigid and asymmetrical mask with one reddened eye peering straight into them. A sickly drone seemed to fill the air, all focused on a cracked gem stuck firmly in the chest fur of the figure.

Zero’s double tackled Pi and straddled them, holding the tip of his blade to their neck. “Don’t you dare make light of it, you brat, I—“

“Whoa, sir I…” Pi swallowed as they began to piece together the earlier behaviour of the fake Trois. The touchy lack of affection, the glances to the rest of their crew…

“You’re… you’re serious…”

There was a moment of pause between the two where the stranger’s eye pleaded softly before Pi seized the opportunity and punched their hand into the mask, knocking it away. The older jackal hissed and groaned, covering his face with both of his hands. The younger jackal grimaced at the sight of the cracked stone flickering under the older one’s fur.

Pi stood up and looked down towards the camp, where their Captain sat whittling something on a small crate. “Okay, you have my attention,” they said, “but none of this makes sense. The Captain is down there, but you’re up here. How do I know this isn’t another disguise?”

“Why would I bother blowing my cover if I were to lie?” the other jackal replied. He coughed, momentarily uncovering his face as droplets of blood trickled from his mouth. “I need your help to stop the Squad from making the biggest mistake of their lives. Going to Mystic Jungle is a trap.”

Pi shook his head. “There has to be some misunderstanding,” they said. “You… you can’t be…”

The other jackal rolled his eyes. “Fine, I guess it’s the hard way then.” He carefully picked up his mask and adjusted it on his face. “I hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me, Pi.”

Pi opened their mouth to speak, but the masked figure shook his head and drew a power from the dark-striped stone. The droning sound of an illusion rumbled forth as he came forward and grabbed Pi’s headband, tearing it off and carefully tying it around his wrist as his figure shifted and slanted until Pi was staring themself in the face.

“Captain,” Pi mouthed, barely heard over the rumble of the Ruby. As they tried to move forward, they felt themselves growing faint, and they stumbled into the dirt. 

“I’m not your Captain, not anymore, Pi,” the older one said. He took the hilt of his blade and gently smacked it against Pi’s forehead, knocking them out. Then, cautiously, he looked about and moved to the edge of the butte, feigning a sighting of Trois before letting out a long and cold howl and pointing her way.

As he spied a few Squadmates headed her direction, Infinite heard the shuffle of footsteps approaching. He turned around and immediately drew a now disguised blade, end pointing at a slightly peeved Captain Zero.

“S-Sir,” Infinite said. His voice had morphed to match Pi’s tone and cadence. “Forgive me, I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“At ease,” the Captain said. He stepped over Pi, or rather  _ through _ them, not even noticing that the other jackal was there. “Trois seems to have been bound. How did this happen?”

“From what it appears,” Infinite explained. “We have an impostor in our midst. As soon as I spotted Trois on the border, whoever took her place vanished. It’s possible he’s gone, but… I dunno…” Infinite flattened his ears for effect. “I did my best to fight him off, boss.”

“Okay, good work.” Zero watched as Trois was hurried back to camp. She appeared to have a slight limp as she was moved to the medical tent. “I’m gonna have Zwei take this spot. I’ll think of something for you. Right now, we need to see if Trois got a look at them.”

Infinite frowned but hid it well from the Captain- he hadn’t meant to bind her so tight for that long. He wanted to slow them down, not hurt them. If he wanted his goal met, though, he also couldn’t play safe- every moment he could keep them from getting to the jungle was one moment they’d avoid a terrible fate.

He huffed a bit, clutching his chest as he sniffled. Zero looked him up and down for a moment before letting out a long sigh.

“You too, huh?” he asked. He pulled out his pouch. “Here, you need to relax by a long shot- your heart is racing. Don’t worry, I have extras.”

Infinite paused for a moment before taking the bag and fishing out a bit of cactus. “Thank you, boss…”


End file.
